Suicide Squad
by AC333
Summary: After betraying the Justice League, Shayera Hol found herself isolated in the Grand Canyon. She wanted no part in the world of heroes. But when Amanda Waller forces her to join Task Force X, a last resort team made up completely by super villains, Shayera finds herself with some unusual friends. 1/3
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own any of these characters. All are owned by DC Comics.**

**Just a heads up, some characters may be acting OOC.**

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Shayera Hol was having a bad day. Well, that was an understatement. She was having a bad year. When she left Wayne Manor, she flew for days. She was finally forced to land due to some…complications. She ended up in a remote part of the Grand Canyon, injured and alone. She was lucky to find a cave to live in. She hunted and collected things at the bottom of canyon. She actually had made the cave homier whittled by the fire at the mouth of her cave at night. It was primal and embarrassing but there were no people around to see - except the hawks. They had huge wingspans, nearly five feet with red-brown wings. Sometimes she would join them. That was the only time she felt alive. Otherwise, she felt empty inside.

So you can imagine how surprised she was while carving a hawk into a piece of wood she found by the river, working on the wing detail, that something flew into her cave. As she got up to see what it was, there was a blinding flash followed by a loud bang. She stumbled over, disoriented, blinded, and terrified. She thought she was being attacked again and she was alone and cornered.

Shayera felt her arms get cuffed behind her back along with her wings. She was forced onto her knees. When she regained her sight, she saw men dressed in black riot gear with guns drawn shouting at her. However, she couldn't hear anything from the flash grenade. "What?" She tried saying. "What? What do you want?" She screamed, frustrated. She knew the Thanagarian invasion caused a lot of damage to Earth and plenty of people wanted her dead.

She noticed A.R.G.U.S. sewn onto their shoulders. She had done a lot of… research on the government and she had never heard of it. Then she saw Amanda Waller walk towards her. "Hello Hawkgirl," she said. "I see you've found a fitting place to live." Shayera nearly growled at that insult.

Shayera knew all about Amanda Waller. It was part of her mission to find out about all high level government employees, and she knew that Amanda Waller was a stone cold bitch. She hated all superheroes and villains alike- and she would do anything for the "greater good". Although this was the first time meeting her, Shayera knew she hated Waller.

"I don't go by Hawkgirl anymore, Waller," said Shayera. "Let's cut the bullshit. If you were going to arrest me, you wouldn't come all the way down here. You would have hauled me to your A.R.G.U.S. headquarters and pressed charges there. And A.R.G.U.S. seems lame for the government. You usually try a lot harder. And since you attempted to scare me and aren't arresting me, you want something."

Waller smirked. "And I thought Flash was the funny one." She bent down the wooden hawk Shayera had dropped, examining it in her hand. "A.R.G.U.S. stands for Advanced Research Group Uniting Super-Humans." Waller sat on one of the large rocks Shayera dragged up to her home. "We want to offer a bargain."

"Do you really think all of this makes me want to make a deal?" Growled Shayera as she gestured towards her restraints. She was growing more and more pissed off. It had been awhile since she had any human interaction; this wasn't making her miss it.

Waller stared at her for a minute before stating, "Take off the shackles and leave us." Her eyes never left Shayera's.

"Are you sure, Ms. Waller?" Asked one of her men in an uneasy voice. He cleared his throat once Waller's head swiveled towards him. "I mean, She could be dangerous."

"Did. I. Stutter. Leave us, now. Ms. Hol understands that of she tries anything, she'll be killed immediately," spat Waller. The men unlocked her handcuffs and left them alone with the fire crackling next to them. Shayera thought the shadows made her eyes look soulless. She probably didn't even need the fire.

"Can we get this over with? I'd like to go back to my peace and quiet," she said, annoyed even getting involved with this situation. She just wanted to be left alone. She didn't need to get wrapped up in all of this again.

"You know I run several parts of the government. Some are supposed to be more… quiet than others. We need your help with one of the cases," said Waller. Amanda ran many government programs that no one else wanted to. She was probably the toughest person they had.

Shayera stared at her for a moment before asking, "Why would I ever help you?" She leaned back. She knew another fact about Waller; she despised the Justice League. She hated how they were viewed as gods. The people worshiped them. Waller hated how regular protectors were pushed aside for the costumed.

Waller smiled. "I thought you would say that. One of the departments A.R.G.U.S. runs is called Task Force X. They recently discovered that military groups have been purchasing new Thanagarian weaponry." Shayera's eyebrows furrowed; so that's what this was about. They thought she was either responsible or they needed her expertise.

"They were probably left over from the invasion. Why does this concern me?" She asked innocently. Shayera knew that Thanagarians never left any weaponry behind.

"They weren't left over from the invasion. You know that already," Waller said with an attitude. "We have noticed small meteors crash landing in remote locations. However, when we reached them, they were all caved in. The last one was more intact than the others. We found these symbols on it," said Waller as she pulled out pictures from her coat pocket. She thrust them at Shayera.

She grabbed them before they landed in the fire nearly burning her hand in the process. Shayera studied them. They said the date sent and the location. They were from the capital of Thanagar and the date… six months after the invasion. "These were sent six months after the invasion. The fleet would have made contact with Thanagar by then." She flipped to the other pictures of the actual weapons. "These are not military regulation. They were banned a couple of years ago, actually. The Thanagarian government is not involved with this."

"I need you to join the Task Force. I want them to take these militants and they need an expert on Thanagar. Who better than a Lieutenant in their army," finished Waller. Just as Shayera suspected.

"I am not a Lieutenant anymore. I was stripped of my rank. Shouldn't the League handle this?" She asked. She didn't want to get involved with any of this. She gave it up. Besides, the League could handle anything now.

"We don't want the League involved. Although they have expanded to new members, they still do not finish the job," said Waller. That was one of the things that bothered Shayera at first. Most heroes on Earth avoided killing at any costs; even if that villain came back again and again. Superman had Luthor and Batman had about fifty enemies that were trying to kill him every five minutes. At first, Shayera nearly killed a few villains herself but was stopped by other horrified Leaguers. At the time, it angered her. She was a warrior and mercy was for the weak. But she grew to respect their tactics, even refusing to kill them herself.

"You mean kill?" asked Shayera. She guessed that Waller wanted these Thanagarians/Earthlings dead. Shayera might agree to help, but she would never agree to kill.

"Exactly. I need this problem ended. I can't have any chance a prison escape. And people are starting to think that the League is better than the government. If word gets out that we could not handle a second invasion, they may want the League to replace the government. I can't let that happen," said Waller. She noticed that Waller had to force out the part about the League being better. This was really eating away at her.

"Look, I understand that you want help with this but, I really don't want to get involved. You should trust the League. They're good people," said Shayera. Shayera trussed them to make the right decision and handle this problem themselves.

"I thought you might say that." Waller stood up, dusting off her suit jacker. She strolled over to the side of the cave, her back turned to Shayera. She was examine the patterns Shayera had carved into the wall. She suddenly turned towards her. "If you do not help, you will be arrested. The people of Earth already hate you. Many government officials have already blamed you for this. You betrayed us once, why not again? You'll stand trial and you will be found guilty and you'll spend the rest of your days rotting in prison."

Shayera stood up, outraged. "Are you- why would I betray Earth twice? You've been watching me so you know theres no way I can be doing this. Are you seriously blackmailing me?" She asked incredulously. She couldn't believe the audacity of Waller, to barge into her home and threaten her like this.

"Yes." said Waller bluntly. "I know you aren't doing this, but they don't. Join the team, and this all will go away." She said it like it was so simple. Shayera wanted time to think this through, but she knew she would get none.

Shayera studied her options. She knew Waller was not bluffing and she wouldn't have a problem throwing her in prison. After a few minutes, she said, "I'll join- but I want this done my way. No one undermining me. And this is the only mission I'll do. And I want a full pardon from the president. It doesn't have to be public, but I want assurance I won't be charged." This way, she would be assured that they would never bother her again.

Waller smiled evilly. "Deal. And I'm not sure you'll want it from the president. After all, he is an old enemy of yours," said Waller as she moved to the corner of the cave.

"Who?" Asked Shayera. "What criminal would be voted-" Her eyes narrowed with realization. Perhaps the Justice Lord's reality was just delayed.

"Luthor," they said at the same time.

Waller smiled. "I see spending your time like a bird hasn't effected your sharpness." She picked up Shayera's mace that she kept hidden in the corner. "I think you'll be needing this. They don't call themselves Task Force X."

Shayera raised an eyebrow. Most groups stuck with their team names. They were proud of them; if you weren't, your team didn't last long. "What do they call themselves?"

Waller smiled. "The Suicide Squad."

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**Let me know what you think! This is my first Justice League fanfic. Any and all**** feedback is appreciate. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Shayera burst into Waller's office and threw the files she received the night before on her desk. "What the hell is this?" She yelled. From her cave, they left immediately to go to the top secret A.R.G.U.S. headquarters were in the middle of a Louisiana swamp. It was called Belle Reve Penitentiary. Task Force X stayed in a separate building. Shayera hated the swamp; the close, low-lying trees made it extremely hard to fly. Also, mosquitos tended to flock towards her. Flash once jokingly told her that hawk blood must be sweeter than human's. She punched him in the arm for that.

Waller didn't look up from the papers she was reading. "I believe those are the details on your mission. Why?" She continued to read, her glasses reflecting whatever it was back to Shayera. If she was in a better mood, she would have attempted to read it off of her reflection. But she wanted to focus on the issue at hand.

"Are you serious?" Shayera said, frustrated. Waller knew exactly what she was talking about. Shayera was sick of her games. "You didn't mention that my team members are criminals!" She yelled. And what a group of criminals. Shayera had fought many of them or heard stories; they were a bad bunch. And now Shayera was one of them. Fantastic.

"You betrayed the entire planet," said Waller in a bored tone. "Don't act like you're so innocent." She still was reading. Shayera was growing more frustrated, especially after that dig. That was a low blow, but all Waller only hit below the belt. Shayera still felt terrible about her betrayal. And to correct Waller, she betrayed both Thanagar and Earth.

"I saved Earth in the end. I've fought some of them before! They'll try to kill me!" She said, slamming her fist on the desk. Waller's coffee mug spilled all over her papers. She rushed to grab them, shaking them off and muttering curses under her breath. She threw them on a side table, glaring at Shayera.

Waller sighed. Shayera swore that she saw a vain twitch on the side of her head. She said, "That won't be a problem. Did you finish reading the file?"

Shayera plopped into a chair. "I stopped once I saw Harley Quinn." Shayera had fought Harley Quinn before and knew that she was an absolute lunatic who was obsessed with the Joker. Batman told her once that before she was insane, she was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum. Shayera found that hard to believe; Quinn needed psychiatric help herself.

"If you bothered to read it, then you would have noticed that they have micro-chips implanted in their brains. You press a button and- BOOM. Their brains will paint the walls. Here-" She threw a watch that Shayera caught. It was a simple design; matte black with a silver face. "Press the blue button." The top screen flipped up and were four lit up buttons. One red, one yellow, one blue, and one black. "There's your kill switch. Quinn is red, Deathstroke is yellow, Boomerang is blue, and Deadshot is black."

There was a silence for a minute. FInally, Shayera asked, "What are they like? I want your opinion on them."

Waller looked back down at her papers, drying them off with paper towels she had just taken out of a desk drawer a moment ago.

"**Deathstroke**," she started. "Or Slade Wilson. He is a brilliant tactician but shows absolutely no mercy. You'll have to watch out for him and Deadshot. They tend to argue a lot, which often leads to fighting. He'll question your orders. He hates not having the upper hand. **Deadshot**, commonly known as Floyd Lawton. He'll always follow your orders as long as he gets his reward. You'll have to watch him; he no regard for his life. **Harley Quinn**, formerly known as Dr. Harleen Quinzel. As you know, she's clinically insane. She will do absolutely anything for the Joker. She used to be his psychiatrist back at Arkham Asylum." Shayera hid a laugh by disguising it as a cough. "Lastly, and definitely least, **Captain Boomerang**: George "Digger" Harkness. One of Flash's enemies. He's an arrogant, selfish, racist, sexist- you get the point. He is probably the weakest member of the team."

"Small group," said Shayera. She didn't have a problem with that. She had worked with smaller groups before and often by herself. Espionage units had to be small; large ones attracted too much attention. "Do they know about me yet?"

"Most of them are dead," said Waller. Shayera did not like the sound of that. "And I thought we'd surprise them." She had a strange glint in her eye, almost like she was excited. Shayera tensed. She did not like where this was going.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks to That Guy, Helen-of-Troy-7, sophie93, and Dark Lord of the X-Men for all of your reviews! It means so much!**

**To respond to your questions...**

**That Guy: I hate to disappoint, but she's more like the DCAU Harley... I know you wanted to see the New 52 Harley, but I only started reading her comics after I finished this story. She does have a few New 52 Harley moments.**

**Dark Lord of the X-Men: Shayera and Harley will definitely form an...unusual friendship!**

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**Chapter Three**

They made their way to a square shaped, plain-looking building. Shayera was surprised that they would keep them in such an easy place to escape. But, Waller seemed to think the situation was under control- her complete control. Shayera wasn't nervous- she was just tired. She wanted to get this mission over with as fast as possible.

They walked into the warehouse and Shayera was surprised of how clean it looked. She chose to stay in the shadows, behind Waller with her hand on her mace. Although there was various types of… weaponry scattered over the tables and floors, it looked almost how her stakeouts looked on Thanagar. There was a large computer with multiple screens. A training center was set up in the corner with targets and dummies. There was even an entertainment area with a large T.V. and couches.

Captain Boomerang and Deathstroke were slicing heads off of dummies. At one point, Boomerang's boomerang went whizzing over Deathstroke's head. In return, he threw a knife that Captain Boomerang narrowly dodged. Deadshot was cleaning out large sniper rifle, his red eye glowing menacingly. He was carefully wiping oil off of the barrel. Or maybe that was blood. And Harley Quinn was sitting upside down on the couch, watching an old sitcom on the T.V., and chewing gum while laughing obnoxiously. She had a Nintendo DS in her hand and was playing some game. The volume for was on the loudest setting.

Waller slammed on the metal wall four times. Everyone quickly made their way over to her. Shayera saw that they nearly jumped up from their activities. "Task Force X," she started. "As you know, Thanagarian weaponry has recently entered the black market. We needed an expert on Thanagar, and we found one."

Quinn put her hands on her hips. "I thought all those pigeons left town a long time ago." She blew a large bubble with her gum, popping it with her teeth.

Waller simply stated, "Not all of them. In fact, this one is an old friend of yours. Hol!"

Shayera slowly made her way next to Waller. They stared at her blankly. Shayera realized it was her missing mask that confused them. She had never been seen in public without her mask on. "Meet your new teammate," said Waller. "Shayera Hol. Formerly known as Hawkgirl."

Their jaws dropped open. Captain Boomerang recovered first, strolling over and taking in her view. "You know, sheila," he said. "You really should have taken off that mask a long time ago. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? Maybe we could get to know each other a little better," he drawled out as he stared at her chest, his mouth curled into a slimy smile.

Shayera crossed her arms. She hated when men rudely hit on her. And it seemed like nine times out of ten, they used that stupid pickup line. "It's not like I've heard that one before. And my eyes are here." He met them, and scowled.

"Can't have any fun around here," he said, stomping away like a toddler. Flash told her about Captain Boomerang before. Wally said that he was even more mature than Boomerang was. That said a lot, coming from the Flash.

"No way!" Yelled Quinn. Shayera winced. She hadn't missed her shrill voice. "Birdbrain is joining us?" Villains often used that nickname when fighting with her. Shayera guessed that they thought it was catchy.

"Yes," said Waller as Shayera frowned. "She'll be your team leader for this project." Shayera wasn't going to take this leadership role too seriously. She didn't care what they did to get the job done as long as they got it done.

"You have to be joking," said Deathstroke. "A leaguer with the likes of us. And our leader? I don't like this," he said as his hand gripped his sword. Of course he would say that. He probably hated not being in charge in a mission. Shayera had to set him straight now.

Shayera's hand flew to her mace. "I am not part of the League anymore. I resigned after the invasion. There's no one here who knows more about Thanagar than I do. Without me, you'll never find the supplier." The only reason Waller called her in was because they were having trouble finding the supplier. If they were having no problems, Waller would never get a Leaguer to help her.

"And what makes you think that we'll listen to you, Hawkgirl? I was just getting used to not having to get bossed around by another leader. I was glad that Flag died." Asked Deadshot. His red eye bore into hers. Shayera knew about Rick Flag. He was their former leader. He was crushed by a large rock that fell off the side of a mountain after Deashot had detonated a bomb near the top. Apparently, all of them were close enough to warn him. They just didn't want to.

Shayera smoothly put out her wrist and flicked up the watch face. The kill switches showed. The four took an uneasy step back. "Try anything with me, and I won't hesitate killing you. And it's not Hawkgirl anymore. I go by Shayera." That was a bluff; Shayera would never kill them. Before joining the League, she definitely would have. But she already caused enough death and destruction. There was no need to get more blood on her hands.

They stared at her for a minute before taking in the information. They realized that she was the best bet to getting this mission over with as soon as possible. Harley strode over, a grin on her face. "Well," she started as she hooked her arm through Shayera's. "We've got a lot of work to do." She glanced down at Shayera's jeans and white t-shirt. "And we need to change that look. Even your friends had better style than that." Harley pursed her lips, frowning at her outfit. Even Shayera could admit that it was a bit ratty; she had been wearing that since the invasion.

Shayera groaned inwardly. Maybe she should have taken the prison sentence.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Harley dragged her up to the second floor, chatting loudly the whole time. None of them seemed to outwardly hate her; they just seemed surprised that she was a criminal now. Quinn brought her to what looked like a storage room, filled with guns, knives, explosives, and a large rack of clothes (?) in the corner. The room and large shelves filled with crates of weapons. Waller had enough faith in her kill switches to keep all of the weapons around them. Shayera didn't understand why they needed so many clothes.

Quinn saw her puzzled look. "Yeah, we keep alotta of outfits here. They get destroyed a lot."

Shayera noticed that Quinn wasn't donning her usual red and black jester's outfit. Instead she wore her hair in two messy blonde pigtails, dyed at the ends red and black, a black and red leather vest that looked three sizes too small, red and black pants with diamond patterns on them, and knee high red and black boots. She had white makeup and her black mask on with dark red (nearly black) lipstick on.

She than began to pull uniforms off of hangers, holding them up to Shayera and tossing them on the ground. A large pile grew. If Quinn asked, Shayera would refuse to help clean them up. She finally tossed a couple of things and shouted, "Change!"

Shayera complied, not wanting to ruin the seemingly good and not psychotic mood Quinn was in. She didn't seem angry. She walked out, wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a gold pattern on it, black pants, a gold belt, and black lace up boots. "A lot of black," she commented as she turned sideways in a mirror, checking how the outfit looked.

Harley snorted. "Better than ya old colors! What was up with that, anyways?" Asked Harley, curious. Shayera's old uniform consisted of yellow, green, red, and black. Even she could admit that they clashed a little… well, a lot. But hey, she worked it. Harley seemed to be… joking around. Shayera was just waiting for her to pull out her boxing glove gun.

Shayera forced a smile. "Underwear outside of your pants seemed in style. I needed to blend in. I was a spy, you know." Upon arriving on Earth, she created the Hawkgirl outfit to appear more friendly with the "natives". Thanagarian military attire was simply too intimidating.

"Well, I don't get it," said Quinn as she sighed. She looked lovingly at a purple scarf. Shayera thought that she saw literal hearts in Harley's eyes. She nearly gagged. "Mister J used to dress in style." She sighed obnoxiously again, saying, "I wonder what he's doing right now. Probably planning somethin' genius for the Bat."

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Shayera, thinking about all of her encounters with the Joker. She was fairly certain that Harley would be the only one to grieve when he died. Shayera suddenly spoke, asking what was on her mind, "Why are you being so nice to me? I would think you would be a little…angry about all of this."

"Ya know, it doesn't really matter anymore. We know what it's like to be looked at like you're… a bottom feeder, even sometimes when you help them out," she looked at Shayera with surprisingly clear eyes. There was no hint of insanity. "I've stopped Mister J from doing some terrible things. And every time I do, Batman and the Justice League still look at me like I'm scum. Even though you betrayed your friends and nearly destroyed the planet, you chose Earth in the end. And they still look at you like you're terrible. I don't get it, and I'm a pretty bad person"

"Wow," said Shayera. Harley hit the nail on the head. Even though Shayera chose Earth (over her home planet, she might add) in the end, the League still looked at her like she was a traitor. Part of the reason why she resigned from the League instead of voting was in fear, fear that they voted her out. She would never find out. "Who would think that Harley Quinn would be the one to pinpoint my emotions." Shayera gave Harley a genuine smile. She was shocked at the advice Harley gave her. Maybe she actually was a good therapist.

"Eh, sometimes it comes from the person you'd least expect," said Harley, waving her hand. "I used to be a psychiatrist, ya know. And I was pretty good at cheering up Mister J. Well, sometimes. Plus, I'm excited about having another girl on the team. Red, that's Poison Ivy, left a while ago. I really needed another girl here, Hawkgirl." Harley had one side of her mouth tilted up.

"You don't have to call me that anymore. You can call me Shayera," said Shayera as they walked out of the room. Their feet clicked on the metal catwalk. Shayera took in the view of the warehouse from above. It looked like an old facility that was recently redone. She deducted that Task Force X had been around for awhile.

"Nah," said Harley. "That won't do." She stopped, blowing a bubble with her gum and thinking. She suddenly popped it. "I got it! It's perfect! Wings!" Shayera had to stop herself from bursting out laughing. It wasn't the most creative nickname but it was better than Birdbrain…or filthy hawk.

Shayera smiled. "I like it, Harley. I think this is actually going to work out." Shayera wasn't lying. If all of her teammates were were like this, she wouldn't have any problems. "Well, we better get down there. I'm afraid to leave those three alone for long." Right on cue, she heard a loud crash and bang. She sighed; this was going to be a long mission.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Shayera's eyes burned from looking at a computer screen for so long. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She leaned back, looking at everything she had gathered so far. She had all of them researching information. Well, she had Deadshot and Deathstroke helping her. Quinn and Captain Boomerang were doing… something with explosive boomerangs. Shayera didn't bother asking them. They didn't have skills with tracking people down. However, Deadshot and Deathstroke were perfect for it. They had a ton of experience with this and were extremely helpful- when they weren't bickering.

"We know that all of the meteors have landed in America already, idiot," said Deathstroke, frustrated that Deadshot hadn't found any new information. Deathstroke had an odd voice, one that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

"Why don't you stop breathing down my neck?" Snapped Deadshot. Deathstroke was standing very close behind him, examining the computer screed. Deadshot had his head turned backwards, glaring at him. "Before I make you," he added.

"You want to go down that road?" Asked Deathstroke as he pulled out his swords. They hissed as they came out of the scabbard. Deadshot jumped to his feet and pulled out a pistol. Shayera guessed that this happened a lot; both seemed too prepared for a fight.

Shayera flew in-between them before they started anything. She landed in between them, extending her wings to smack them in the face. They both stumbled backwards, Deashot spitting out feathers. "Enough," she snapped. "I found something, but you two seem too involved in your cat fight to notice." They both looked at her, jaws clenched before following her to the large computer. "Quinn! Boomerang! Found something." The two stopped working on their project and followed.

"Waddya got for us, Wings?" Asked Harley. The three men gave Quinn confused looks. "What? It's a good nickname!" She said defensively.

Shayera sat down at the computer and pulled up the holographic map of the United States. The six sights where the meteors crashed showed up in red. "All of the meteors have crashed in the wild so it's been hard to link them to a specific group." She pressed a few keys and a green spots showed up, glowing brightly against the black screen.

"What's that?" Asked Captain Boomerang. He was currently fiddling with his suit boomerang belt, trying to figure out how to add another boomerang to it. Shayera thought that he didn't need anymore; boomerangs came back. "Wi-fi hotspots?" He giggled at his lame attempt for a joke.

"No," said Shayera with a slight grin. "Those are where the meteors will crash next." She was pleased at their confused faces. She would never admit it, but she loved outsmarting people. Everyone considered her as a warrior, not as a strategist. She was both, and it was about damn time that she showed it.

"Am I missing something?" Asked Deathstroke. He had a knife in his hand and was continuously spinning it. Harley was watching it go around and around, her head going in a circle with each spin. "We've been working on this for months-better yet, some of the smartest people in the government have. This only took you a couple of hours to do," he said with an attitude. Shayera saw Harley fall down out of the corner of her eye, dizzy from all of the spinning.

She gave him a dirty look. "I thought that these locations looked similar," she said. She pointed to a spot in Arizona. "Then I realized that's exactly where I crash landed six years ago. Also, I'm smarter than I look. I never show someone my true intelligence or strength unless absolutely necessary. I used to regularly beat Batman in chess. So stop underestimating me." Shayera held back in fights, even acting reckless. It just surprised her enemies more when she made a calculated move.

"You beat Batsy," giggled Harley from her position on the floor. "Ha!"

They looked at her with varying looks of surprise, admiration, and in Deathstroke's case, impassiveness. "So," said Captain Boomerang. "There are at least twenty locations. It's just a coincidence. Next you're going to tell me that the Americans never landed on the moon and that aliens exist." He was waving his hands dramatically, his red hair sticking up everywhere out of his side cap. It was navy blue with small boomerangs stitched onto it.

They all stared at him for a moment after that statement. "George," said Shayera in a very careful tone. She thought she sounded like a kindergarten teacher. "You know I'm an alien, right? And you know that aliens have invaded Earth twice in the past six years?" She asked as she extended her wings.

Shayera watched as Boomerang's face reddened as he tried to correct himself. "Pshhh. I knew that. I was just… testing you lot. Yeah. That's what I was doing," he said. He looked fairly confident that he convinced them. Shayera decided that it wasn't worth it, rolled her eyes, and changed the topic.

"No," said Shayera. "It's not a coincidence. One of the original plans was to send thirty agents to Earth but this was cut out immediately. It would have looked too suspicious. The remaining locations are where the other agents were supposed to land." The original plan was to have these agents act as if Thanagar needed their help. It was overall a poorly thought out idea, so it was tossed. Only a handful of Thanagarian military officials knew about this plan, her included. One of them must have deserted the military, hell bent on destroying Earth.

The others stared at the screen for a minute. "So where is it landing next?" Asked Deadshot. He only seemed curious; there was no malice in his tone.

She pressed another few keys and a location showed up yellow. "They're not changing anything from the original plan. If they stick to it, the next meteor should land in the Colorado Rockies." They debated having her land there instead since the mountains were so familiar to Thanagarians. It was decided that she would land near Midway City.

"So what now?" Asked Quinn. She had crawled over to the couch and game back, pressing buttons on some device. She was barely glancing up, her eyes glued to her DS. She was playing some…dog game. Shayera really didn't understand Earthlings.

"We ask Waller to get us there. And then we ambush whoever is coming to pick them up," Shayera said. She had thought it out carefully. They wait there and then jump the pickup crew. They would easily get a name out of them.

Captain Boomerang pulled out his new weapon with a grin. "I think I'm going to like this plan."


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to Magitech, Helen-of-Troy-7, Gerren, and Random-Jack for leaving reviews. They are much appreciated!**

**This is a bit of a shorter chapter. New one to come next week. If you haven't noticed, I usually update every Saturday or Sunday. On another note, check out the new pic of Jared Leto as the Joker for the _Suicide Squad_ movie. It's...different...**

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**Chapter Six**

Shayera crouched in her her hiding spot, waiting for the meteor to land. She had Deadshot on a high ledge, overlooking the area with a high tech sniper. She gave him specific instructions not to kill unless it was necessary. He didn't seem to care either way, just shrugged and headed over to his spot. Deathstroke, Harley, and Captain Boomerang were positioned around where the meteor would land.

Finally, a red glow appeared on the horizon and a few minutes later the meteor crashed. There was no movement. She pressed on her earpiece and whispered, "They'll be here within the next ten minutes. Stand ready."

"We know, love," said Captain Boomerang. A sarcastic tone crept into his voice. "You only reminded us ten times on the way over here."

"Heads up," said Harley. Shayera winced; she was screaming into her earpiece, ruining the entire point. "We've got company!"

A helicopter came over one of the mountains and quickly landed next to the meteor. Ten men jumped out, two with pickaxes to break open the meteor. "Go," whispered Shayera and she flew out of her hiding spot. She was glad to finally stretch her wings. She reached them first, electrified her mace, and hit the closest one in the stomach with her signature "HAHHHH!"

Before she could hit someone else, she felt something wrap around her legs and she slammed into the icy mountain side. She landed on the ground below, extremely dizzy. Her mace landed beside her. With her vision spinning, she saw a pair of red boots angrily stride up to her. She looked up and saw the last person that she would expect. "I'm not surprised to see you here, traitor," said Diana. She looked extremely pissed off. "Come to pick up your weapons?"

"Diana?" Said Shayera, clutching her head. _This does not look good for me,_ she thought. "No, you don't understa-" her eyes widened as Diana's fist headed toward her face. Diana was probably still a bit… angry about the invasion. Clearly she was in no mood to talk. Shayera quickly rolled out of the way and picked up her mace as she took off into the air. She saw Harley swinging at Batman, Captain Boomerang throwing his new boomerangs at Flash, and Deathstroke taking on two heroes Shayera had never seen before. "You really don't understand Diana," said Shayera as she dodged her punches. She saw the helicopter receding in the distance. "You're letting them get away!" Yelled Shayera, extremely frustrated.

"I think we already found who wants them," snapped Diana. She had followed Shayera into the air and was throwing punches that she barely dodged.

"This is ridiculous," said Shayera. She stopped midair and dropped her mace onto the snowy ground below as a gesture of peace. "Diana, you have to list-" She was interrupted by Diana's fist connecting with her jaw. She slammed into the ground for the second time that day.

All of the others seemed to have given in and were thrown on the ground beside her. "Jeez B-Man," said Harley, dusting off her uniform. "Lighten up a bit."

"I told you!" Yelled Diana. "We should have tracked her down a long time ago." She looked at Shayera. "Seems like you've saved us the trouble. You've picked a nice group to work with, too. Quinn, Deathstroke, Captain Boomerang-"

"What are you doing with those weapons?" Interrupted Batman in his interrogatory voice. He had his arms crossed and was glaring at all of them.

"If princess listened for a second," snapped Shayera, rubbing her jaw. She knew that Diana really hated when people called her princess. But she was acting like a brat right now. "Then you would know that we were trying to stop those people. But then again, has she ever listened?" Diana clenched her fists.

"What do you mean you were trying to stop them?" Asked Flash stepping in between them. He looked merely curious (and slightly uncomfortable). Shayera knew that he asked the question as an interruption, to ease the tension in the air. It didn't do much.

"Amanda Waller recruited us to A.R.G.U.S. to stop them from from getting those weapons," said Deathstroke. He had stood up and had his arms crossed against his chest. Although he didn't have his swords on him at the moment, Shayera knew that he could take most of them down without any trouble.

"You expect us to believe that you're all working for the government?" asked one of the women who was fighting Deathstroke. She was gorgeous, tall, and incredibly stylish. She had dark skin and caramel colored eyes. Shayera never knew that someone could pull off an orange jumpsuit so well without looking like a prisoner.

"Ah!" Screeched Harley. Everyone jumped slightly as she pulled out papers from her belt. Wally actually stumbled backwards. "These actually came in handy!" She thrust them at Batman, a triumphant look on her face.

"Why do you have those?" Furiously whispered Deathstroke. His one eye was narrowed at Harley under his mask and his hands were clenched into fists.

Harley shrugged. She was currently pushing snow the snow around, making what looked like a snowman. An extremely small, lopsided snowman. "Waller said I would be the one who would get arrested first."

Batman looked at them for a second and his eyes widened under is cowl. "They're not lying," he said after a few minutes.

"Ha!" Yelled Quinn. A Cheshire Cat grin grew across her face. "You let the bad guys get away. This is your fault!" She started giggling uncontrollably, rolling around in the snow. "If you hadn't bothered to fight us and had gone after them, you would have stopped them! This is priceless!" The corner of her mouth twitched; Shayera had to force herself to keep a straight face. It was satisfying to see that they had screwed up. Especially after Diana's sucker punch.

The other Leaguers stomped away, Deathstroke and Captain Boomerang disappeared (probably to hunt down Deadshot and demand to know why he was absolutely no help; Shayera was wondering the same thing) and Harley went to go climb on the "Alien Rock" as she called it.

A red glove went into her face. "Need a hand?" Asked Flash's smiling face. He was wearing his signature red Flash suit. He looked happy to see her.

"Thanks, Wa-Flash," she said as he helped her up. She gave him an apologetic smile, remembering that there were criminals around. "I'm really glad to see you." She tried to smile again but just ended up wincing, feeling her molars with her tongue. She sighed with relief, realizing that none were loose.

"You alright?" He asked, concerned. He suddenly frowned. "Diana hits pretty hard when she's pissed."

"I'm fine. I've gotten hit harder before," she said. She thought back to a few fights where she had gotten hit much harder. However, she knew that this was going to bruise.

"So are you really working with the government. With them?" Asked Wally. He crossed his arms, nearly sulking as he asked the question.

"I can't believe it either. Trust me, I didn't really get a choice." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw John fly in, up to the woman from before. She took a sharp breath in as a rush of emotions filled her. Mostly happiness. She hadn't seen him she flew away from Wayne Manor. In that exact moment, she realized how much she missed him.

"Are you ok?" Asked Wally. "You sure she didn't hit you too hard?" He had his head tilted and moved his face closer to hers, inspecting her jaw. He was staring directly at her, but she was watching John and the other woman.

"Mari!" Yelled John, extremely worried. He landed on the ground next to her, still enveloped in a green aura. He looked different; he shaved his head and had a goatee. Shayera didn't like it. "Are you hurt?"

"Mari" laughed. She swatted him playfully on the arm and Shayera frowned. "I'm fine, John. You have to stop worrying about me," she said as she cupped his face and kissed him.

Shayera's jaw fell open. The feeling of happiness was gone. Now she only felt empty. "Oh. That." said Wally. "Listen-"

"I'm ok. Really, Wally. Anyway, it's time for us to go. It was nice seeing you," she forced out in a weak voice. She absolutely refused to let anyone know how she felt about it, even though she felt crushed inside. She gave a sharp whistle and the four quickly made their way over. "Task Force X. Time for us to go. We have a lot of work to catch up on," she said as they began to move to pick-up location. "No help from them," she muttered under her breath.

"Shayera," said John, surprised. He looked shocked seeing her there. "I-uh-What are you doing here?" He stuttered.

"Hello John," she said with no emotion. _I swear Shayera if you cry here..._ She hated that Mari woman for stealing John from her. She hated John for replacing her that quickly. But most of all, she hated herself for betraying them all. "Let's go," she said to them.

"Brrrrrr," said Harley as she faked shivered. Shayera shot her a dirty look and she put her hands up, surrendering. As soon as Shayera turned around again, she heard Harley barely suppress a giggle. She rolled her eyes.

"Stay out of our way," said Diana as she stared at Shayera with her hands on her hips. Her eyes were narrowed and Shayera remembered the last time she had seen her so angry; when Diana wanted to leave her to die on the ship.

"We'll see," said Shayera. She looked at John. "Hate the beard." She spun around and walked away, taking as long of strides her short legs allowed. She heard some her group (and maybe Wally) snickering behind her. She smiled at her small victory.

They got into the helicopter and the pilot lifted off. There was a silence for a while before Captain Boomerang spoke. "Well that went swimmingly," he said sarcastically. He had a cloth out and was polishing one of his boomerangs.

"No shit," said Deathstroke. He was digging his large sword into the floor of the helicopter. "That was an absolute disaster."

"At least no one died," supplied Deadshot. He was leaned back in his seat, flipping large bullets through his fingers. "We've had worse missions."

"You were a big help," said Shayera, currently in an extremely bad mood. She was stewing over John and his new girlfriend. Of course she had thought about him moving on; she just never expected him to actually do it. "You had one job. Did you run out of bullets?" She snapped sarcastically.

"I didn't use bullets," he said as he pulled out a small device, grinning. It was emitting small beeps. "I used a tracking device. You know, green really isn't your color." He tossed it to Shayera and crossed his arms over his head, sticking his feet on the edge of her chair. She glared at him, brushing off the comment. She shoved his feet off her chair before looking at the device. Lo and behold, she saw a red dot traveling across the screen. When Deadshot put his feet on her chair again, she allowed them to stay.

"Smart," she said. "We're going back to Belle Reve while we wait for this helicopter to land." She paused, thinking about what Diana said. She held the device a little tighter as she said, "We're going to shut down this operation and clear my name," she said.

"But didn't you hear the League?" Asked Harley. Her makeup had smudged during the fight."They get pretty pissed when we don't listen. Especially bats," she grumbled.

"The League doesn't have to know," said Shayera. "And I'd really like to show them up." Seeing their faces when _she_ shut down the operation would be priceless.

They smiled. "Did you see Green Lantern's face? I thought he was going to shit a brick," said Harley. They all began to laugh. Even Deathstroke seemed to crack a smile.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to Chamellia, Helen-of-Troy-7, Historyman 14, and magitech for leaving reviews! What'd you guys think of the Jared Leto pic?**

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**Chapter Seven**

Shayera sat, typing on the computer as Harley was watching some romantic comedy. They were waiting for the tracker to stop moving. Harley sighed. Shayera glanced over but decided to ignore her. Harley sighed again, louder. "Something wrong?" Finally asked Shayera, wanting Harley to shut up.

"No," sighed Harley as she stared at the screen. Shayera glanced at it and saw images of roses and chocolates flicker across the screen. She grimaced.

"Ok then," said Shayera as she looked back at her computer, reading up on the new league. They added quite a few new members and had two locations; the new watchtower and the metro tower. She noted that Bruce Wayne had donated a large sum of money to both projects. She was currently reading (not stalking, as Captain Boomerang put it) about Vixen, or Mari McCabe. She frowned as she saw that she was actually a supermodel. She clicked away, and swiveled in her chair, rubbing the bridge of her nose, trying to keep her emotions under control.

Harley interrupted her silence. "Well, now that you ask, I miss my puddin. I know he's out there, alone, on the run. I just wish I were there with him," said Harley as she buried her face in a pillow. She let out a low moan.

"The Joker? He's a psychopath. Didn't he give you up in exchange for a shorter sentence?" Asked Shayera. She couldn't believe that Harley loved a man who abused her. She had seen him in action and whenever Harley screwed up, he was there, screaming at her or even hitting her. He had even knocked her out a couple of times. Shayera didn't see that as love.

Harley apparently did not take it the same way. She shot to her feet, enraged. Shayera thought she saw actual steam coming out of her ears. In a thick Brooklyn accent, she said, "He's changed! And whatta you know about love!" Her blue eyes were focused in on Shayera.

Shayera looked over and gave her a sad smile. She thought about Hro and most of all John. "I have some experience," she said.

"Who?" Harley asked, suspiciously. She had her eyes narrowed under her mask and her arms crossed over her chest.

"Doesn't matter," mumbled Shayera. It was quiet for a minute and she thought Quinn had given it up. She returned to her computer.

Harley popped her face upside down into Shayera's. She was hanging from a railing above them, her face a few inches away. "Who?" She asked.

Shayera flipped over in her chair. "Harley! You nearly gave me a heart attack. And it doesn't matter who. It's over. I'm sure of it now." She stood up, rubbing one of her wings.

Harley's eyes widened with that sentence. "Green Lantern! YOU and Green Lantern! You're joking, right?"

Shayera brushed herself off. "I don't have time for this." She began typing but the computer screen went black.

Harley stood there with the plug in her hand. "Now you do," she said sweetly. "Talk!" She sat down on the floor, cross legged. She was looking eagerly up at Shayera.

Shayera sighed. This wasn't going away anytime soon. "It started before the invasion. Right after you and the Joker blew up the casino." She thought about how worried she was when John took the worst of the explosion. His heart had stopped.

Harley interrupted. "Look at me!" she said with a toothy grin. "Matchmaker!"

Shayera rolled her eyes at the comment. "During the invasion he found out I had a fiancé on Thanagar. After everything was over, I told him that I loved him. He didn't say anything," said Shayera, as fast as possible. "Happy now?" She closed her eyes and sighed.

"And I thought I had relationship issues," said Harley. She had a serious look on her face for once. Strangely, her voice was not as high pitched and her accent was not as thick. She almost sounded… normal.

"Why do you stay with the Joker?" Asked Shayera. This question had been bothering her for a while now. If Hro treated her that way, she would have kicked his ass. Harley worshiped the Joker and he treated her like dirt. "You give him everything but instead of loving you, he just uses you and then throws you away."

Harley looked deflated. "I guess I just don't know any better. I really do love him, you know." Her bright blue eyes looked shinier and she was rubbing them with the heel of her palm.

Shayera thought for a moment and then said, "Next time you see him, make him be the needy one. If he doesn't show you that he cares, then you know. Play hard to get." Shayera used this tactic plenty of times when she wanted to get a date. That's actually how she got Hro to ask her out. She simply played hard to get.

"That's not a bad idea, Wings," said Harley. She gave Shayera a small smile. "I'll try that." She suddenly frowned. "Although, J is a bit of an attention seeker."

Shayera stood up and stretched her arms over her head, cracking her back. She was stiff from sitting for so long. "I should probably tell Waller what's going on. Maybe she'll give us a hand." She grabbed her mace that was sitting on the couch and attached it to her belt.

Harley sat back down on the couch. "Ha! As if the Wall would ever help us. Good luck with that! Catch ya later, wings."


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to magitech and Historyman 14 for reviews! Kind of a short chapter. It's a bit of a filler...idea thanks to ****Historyman 14.**

**Chapter 8**

John Stewart sat at the founding members meeting of the Justice League, going over Lex Luthor's recent speech. He had won, much to the chagrin of the League. Batman had found no evidence of him botching the votes and instead, said that it seemed as if the voters wanted Luthor to win.

To tell the truth, John was barely paying attention. His mind was on Shayera. He clenched his fist, thinking about her joining Task Force X. It was dangerous, so dangerous. Her working with criminals that she had fought before, that tried to kill her before. And they all acted like nothing was wrong; almost like they were...friends! No, John couldn't believe that. She would never...

"There's one more thing I want to talk about," said Wally in a serious tone for once. John's eyes snapped up to meet Wally's as Batman sat back down, seeming annoyed that he could not go back to Gotham. "Shayera," he said almost quietly. "You know that we saw her working with those criminals."

Superman nodded thoughtfully as Diana glared. "Yes, I heard about that. It all seems legitimate, Wally," said Superman.

Batman interjected in a gruff tone, "I checked it all out. She's working for a branch of A.R.G.U.S. run by Amanda Waller called Task Force X. Some get paid, some do it in exchange for a shorter prison sentence."

"But why would Shayera work for the United States' government?" Asked J'onn in his monotone voice. "She wouldn't be one to care about getting paid. She can't use the money anywhere—what use is it to her?"

"She told me she didn't have much of a choice," shot out Wally. He made eye contact with each of them at the table. He was drumming his fingers on the table, creating an annoying buzzing sound. "She founded the League with us," he said, glancing at the seventh empty chair. "She betrayed her own planet to let ours live."

Wonder Woman spoke, her eyes blazing. "After betraying us first!" She yelled. "She's probably getting paid as a Thanagarian expert for the weapons. Even the United States government did charge her for conspiracy, then there's nothing we can do about it! We're the Justice League; if we pardon our own, we'll lose our credibility."

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. What Diana said was technically true; Shayera did conspire against the government. And if they did help her get out of her prison sentence, then the people would grow angry. They would be viewed as corrupt if they helped their own. She made the right decision in the end, but at what cost?

"Is there anything we can do about this, Bruce?" Asked John in a tired voice. He hadn't gotten uch sleep the night before, this keeping him awaking. Batman was always watching Waller for any signs of trouble. He seemed to be calculating her moves.

"Even if we wanted to help her, we couldn't. This is a legitimate program. There's nothing we can do to stop it," he said, eying John carefully. "I'd say we've talked about enough for today. Meeting adjourned?" He quizzed, looking at Superman.

Superman nodded and the rest stood up to file out of the room. Wally's jaw dropped and he quickly snapped it shut. "So we're going to leave her with them?" Wally yelled, slamming his fist on the table. The others looked at him in shock.

"There's nothing we can do," bitterly said John. He thought of how well she was getting along with the criminals, how she didn't seem to care that he was there. It stung; she really had broken his heart. He guessed that he did the same to her.

The Flash shook his head sadly at them. "You know, sometimes I think we're worse than the bad guys." He looked at each of them before zipping out of the room and slamming the door shut behind him.

In that silence, John knew that each of them felt the same exact way.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to Helen-of-Troy-7, magitech, and Historyman 14 for leaving reviews!**

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**Chapter Nine**

Shayera flew high over the swamp and circled a few times before landing in front of the large main building. Guards simply ignored her as she walked by. She made her way to Waller's office. Her metal door was closed. She raised her hand to the gray metal, about to knock, but she heard voices. She glanced down the dark hall, making sure no one was around her, and then stuck her head against the door. It was muffled, but she could hear what Waller was saying.

"I understand that, Amanda, but I want them gone. Not just put back into their cells, but dead," the voice said. He had a deep voice with an angry tone. Shayera tried to press her head harder against the door so she could hear better. "They've given me enough trouble already."

"I've spent a lot of time, money, and resources on them," said Waller. Shayera realized that they were talking about Task Force X. She bit her lip. _What could they possibly want with us? Especially if they're talking to Waller._ "If you think I'm just going to throw that awa-"

"We'll give you half of the weapons and then cut off the deal," he said. Shayera could tell it was a man but couldn't tell who. They must have been talking about the Thanagarian weaponry. So Waller knew who was behind it the whole time? The voice sounded very similar. "Your departments could make good use of them."

Waller considered the offer. "Done," she said. "But you have to sell yours. The trail will lead right back if Lex Co. muscle are found with Thanagarian weaponry.

That's where the voice sounded familiar. It was none other than Lex Luthor who was buying the weapons. But from who? And why? He had nuclear weapons at his disposal; why would he want Thanagarian guns. Although they were more advanced than Earth's guns, nuclear weapons were far more powerful. "Deal," said Luthor. "And one more thing. That bird freak wants Shayera Hol as payment. Can you deliver her?" Shayera felt a chill go down her spine.

"Consider it done," said Waller without missing a beat. _So much for loyalty,_ thought Shayera. Then again, she betrayed the entire planet. "What is he going to do to her?"

"I'm sure he has some painful death in mind," said Luthor. "Not that I'm complaining. Hawkgirl has given me plenty of trouble." He barked out a laugh. "I have to go. Let me know when they're dead," said Luthor.

"They'll be gone in the next two hours," said Amanda. "Waller out—" The feed ended. Shayera gripped her mace, shocked at the information she just heard. Someone really wanted her dead. She waited five minutes, pacing and running her hands through her hair. She put a fake calm face on and raised her hand to knock on the door.

"Come in," said Waller. She was reading out of a file and closed it when she saw Shayera enter. "I heard you ran into some trouble with the League. It looks like you especially," she said as she glanced at Shayera's bruised jaw.

Shayera sat down on the hard chair, thinking about Diana's sucker punch. "We lost the helicopter and the guns."

"I know," said Waller. She didn't look angry at all."There's no easy way to say this, so here it is. I am pulling the mission. It's all over the news and this division has gained too much negative attention. It is now official Justice League business."

"What am I supposed to do now?" Interrogated Shayera. She acted surprised and angry. Actually, the anger wasn't acting. "This is the mission that you wanted me for!"

"I'm sure you'll be useful on other missions," said Waller. She smiled smugly, her white teeth glistening. "Remember, I can always turn you in."

Shayera stared at her for a second before storming out of the building and taking off into the air. She always felt as if she could think clearer in the air. Waller was going to turn her into Lex Luthor, who in return, would give her to some Thanagarian who wanted her dead. She could run, but that would leave the others behind. And she was sure that she would be tracked down. She could go to the League. No, she was too stubborn for that. She would never go crawling back to them for help after the way they treated her. She would rather die. She flew back to the warehouse.

She kicked open the door of the warehouse and saw everyone gathered around the training area. They looked up, startled at her angry entrance. She got right to the point. "Waller is planning to kill you all," she said. "And turn me into a Thangarian that wants me to die—slowly." They stopped what they were doing at stared at her, in shock. "Deadshot, has the signal stopped yet?"

They looked at her. "Maybe you haven't learned this by now, but when Waller threatens us, she's not bluffing. Did you forget about your kill switch? If she says we're dead, we're dead," said Boomerang. For once, he didn't have a stupid grin on his face.

Shayera grinned. "I can get those chips out of your brains. I'm sure they have tracking devices on them. In return for helping me finish our mission, you'll be free to go."

"How do you expect to get them out?" Asked Deathstroke. He had pulled off his mask to reveal grey hair, a hardened face, and a black eye patch going over one eye. He looked like a typical military general. She had read in his file that he was once part of the United States Army. "I'm sure they're jammed in there."

She held up her mace and electrified it. It lit up her face, creating erie shadows. Smiling, she said, "With this."

They all took an uneasy step back. "You sure about this, love?" Asked Captain Boomerang, his voice wavering. He sounded nervous. "I really don't want my brains scrambled today."

"Unless you want your brains exploded by Waller, this is your only choice," said Shayera pointedly. No one stepped forward. She sighed, "This works. I've done it before." She sat down in a chair, putting her heads in her hands. She finally spoke again. "Back on my home planet, I joined the military. The first couple of years, my unit was captured by Gordanians. I was held in a prison camp and tortured for information." She clenched her mace a little tighter a the memory. "They kept explosive bands on our wings to keep us from escaping. By the end, I was desperate and just wanted it to stop." She closed her eyes, remembering how horrible the camp was. "I walked to the edge of the camp and grabbed onto the electric fence, waiting for the band to explode. But nothing happened. Instead of killing myself, I shut down the collar's electrical circuit. I was able to escape. It works the same on smaller chips," she finished. They stared at her with shocked looks.

The Gordanians were notoriously cruel, especially towards Thanagarians. Most of the time, they just executed prisoners of war. But sometimes they kept them alive to trade for their own comrades. The prison camps were either on ships or on planets the Gordanians had already conquered. They allowed the Thanagarians to have free range of the camp when they were not participating in work activities. They either cut off their wings or kept metal bands around them. She was one of the lucky ones. The camps were encased with big electric fences, buzzing with electricity every hour of the day. The electricity from the fence disabled the band. She was able to fly away after that, stealing a ship and making it back to Thanagar.

Harley put a hand on her arm. "I'll go first, Wings," she said softly. She looked sympathetic. "I trust ya."

Shayera nodded and put the mace to Harley's head. She screamed out in pain, and then went limp. She looked at her watch. The red light went out. She quickly did the others as they groaned and held their heads. She dropped the watch on the ground and stepped on it; the face shattered. "We have to move out. Waller will notice, if she didn't already."

"Let's go," said Deadshot. "The sooner we're out of this hell hole, the better."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Shayera sat in the helicopter, furiously writing a letter. She had taken some papers from the warehouse and had it pressed against her thigh. Although it was sloppy, it was legible. Wally once told her that she had chicken scratch writing. She hoped they would be able to read this. "What's that?" Asked Harley.

She impatiently brushed her red bangs out of her face. "A letter to the League. I still have my original earpiece. Once I put the batteries in and press the distress signal, they'll come to it. They need to know what's going on, incase…" she trailed off. She took her pen off the paper.

"Incase this really is a suicide mission," finished Deadshot in a bored tone. One of his fatal flaws was his lack of concern for his life. She had read in his file that he was slightly suicidal, always fighting someone he shouldn't take on. Shayera wondered where that came from. At the moment, he was packing bullets into one of his many guns.

She nodded. "I'm just telling them the basics. They don't know where we're going. Stop here," she said. Deathstroke landed down the helicopter on a hill overlooking the city. They were near Detroit. She put the letter down with the tracker and pressed the distress signal. She took a look at the city, and then jumped back into the helicopter. "Let's go," she said. Deathstroke took off.

"Any idea where we're headed?" Asked Captain Boomerang. He was currently reorganizing the order of Boomerangs on his belt.

Deadshot pulled out the tracker. "Gotham, actually," he said. "69 East Bay Road."

"Hey!" Said Harley. "That's an old hideout of Mister J's." She snorted. "69. Do ya think he's in on this? Am I gonna see my puddin?" She asked excitedly. She was smiling so eagerly that the lines on her forehead were visible.

"I would hope not, Harley," said Shayera. She frowned and added, "Since you were just sold out."

Harley snapped out of her dreamy state. Her lower lip quivered and in a shaky tone, she said, "He wouldn't- my pudding- he loves me!" She had tears in her eyes.

"Wouldn't be surprised, Quinn," said Deathstroke. He was gripping the helicopter steering wheel. He was flipping switches and turning knobs without missing a beat. "That clown has given you up more times than I can remember."

Harley put her head in her hands, defeated. "I loved him," Harley said in a broken voice.

Shayera put her hand on Harley's shoulder. The men looked away, either extremely uncomfortable or bored. "Hey," she said softly. "I know what it's like to love someone who doesn't love you back too. But this isn't your fault. You're going to end it tonight."

"Yeah," said Harley with some conviction in her voice. "I'm going to break up with the Joker!" She started laughing hysterically. "It doesn't sound as scary when I say it out loud."

Captain Boomerang spoke up. "We have two definitions of scary, Quinn." Shayera agreed. She just hoped they would be able to control the Joker when he received the news. He didn't like his toys being taken away from him and Harley was his favorite one.

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**John POV**

John was sitting on his couch, snuggling with Mari and watching t.v. John wanted to watch _Old Yeller_ but Mari insisted that they watch some romantic comedy. He wasn't paying attention; he was thinking about Shayera. After seeing her in the Rocky Mountains, fighting against the League with criminals, he didn't know what to think. She would never willingly work with criminals. The six remaining founding members had discussed what to do about her. Batman said they could do nothing because she was wasn't committing any crimes and was working for the government. They were called Task Force X, but they were better known as the Suicide Squad.

John was willing to force Shayera out of the group when he heard that term. He did some research and found that Task Force X was made up of expendable criminals and were sent on extremely difficult missions. The criminals involved received shorter sentences in exchange for completing missions. He didn't know how Shayera got involved; Wally had said that it wasn't her choice. When the meeting ended, they decided that there was nothing that they could do for her. Wally was distraught that they had done nothing to help her, but Shayera seemed to be...happy with those felons. John couldn't understand it.

In the middle of the movie, J'onn spoke through is com-link. "John. Do not overreact." He paused and John's heart rate immediately went up. "Shayera's emergency distress signal went off outside of Detroit."

He sprung to his feet, one finger pressed to his ear. Mari threw the blanket off and stood up. "John?" Asked Mari with a concerned look. "What is is? Are you alright?"

John ignored her and ran one hand over his bald head. "Is she hurt?" He quickly shot out in his deep voice. "What happened? When did this happen?"

"I tried contacting her but there was no response. I am teleporting you there now, along with the others," J'onn simply stated.

John used his ring to change into his Green Lantern uniform. "I have to go, Mari. Shayera's distress signal went off." He kissed her on the cheek and prepared to teleport. Mari frowned and crossed her arms.

Moments later he found himself standing outside of Detroit with the original seven, no six, founding members. They were staring at the earpiece on the ground. A envelope was pinned under it, the ends lifting up with the wind. "It's for you," said Superman. They all looked at him, expectantly. He picked it up with shaky hands.

He started to read.

_Dear John,_

_I can't help but to laugh at getting myself into this situation. I suppose I should tell you what this situation is. Long story short, Amanda Waller traded Task Force X's lives in exchange for Thanagarian weapons from Lex Luthor. He also wanted me to give to the Thanagarians who really, really want me dead. Do not blame the others I was working with. They have been working under Waller and A.R.G.U.S. for the past three years, with their lives threatened by micro bombs implanted in their brains. They have followed any orders she has given, no matter how atrocious. _

_For the past year, I was living in a cave in the Grand Canyon. Don't pity me—I deserved it. Waller interrupted my peaceful life, forcing me to work as her expert on Thanagar. She told me if I refused, she would frame me for the trade._

_I didn't want to work with criminals. But here I am. The Suicide Squad actually isn't too bad once you get to know them. Deathstroke is arrogant, Boomerang is slimy, Deadshot doesn't give a shit, and Harley is insane, but I've worked with worse people. We are going to try and stop Luthor, God help us. If you don't hear from me after this, go after him and Waller. I'm not sure that we'll be walking away from this one. _

_I love you, John. I always have and I always will. _

_Stay safe,_

_Shayera _

He stared at the paper until he crumpled it in his hands. He shoved it in his pocket. "What did it say?" Asked Diana. She was standing with her hands on her hips. "Is she admitting her betrayal?" She asked bitterly.

"No," snapped John. His face contorted in anger. Diana should have let the invasion go by now. "The opposite. We have to find them, before they kill themselves."

"What's going on?" Asked Flash. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was wringing his hands in worry.

John spoke quickly. "Waller has been forcing them for the past three years to go on missions, with threats of bombs in their heads. She forced Shayera to get involved once they found the weapons. Waller said that she would frame Shayera if she refused to help." said John in a strained voice. "But, Waller agreed to kill them and give Luthor Shayera if her gave them half their weaponry."

"We should have helped her," said Wally. The others looked slightly guilty for not helping her when they had the chance. They let her down and now...it may have cost her life. "What does he want with Shayera?" Asked Flash with a genuine concerned voice. He stepped forward, his red boots cracking the leaves underfoot.

"The Thanagarians want her. They still are angry about the invasion," quietly said John. He was imagining what they would do with her once they got her. Shayera once told him that the worst crime to commit on Thanagar was treason.

"So where are they going?" Asked Superman. His red cape was waving slowly with the wind.

"She didn't say," said John. The other's faces fell once he said that. They were hoping for a clue. "She's stubborn. She probably wants to finish this herself, even if they die trying."

Diana had her hands on her hips. "You really expect us to believe that these criminals are going to risk their lives to take down Lex Luthor? He'll probably just pay them off," she hissed. But even her voice sounded unsure.

"They call themselves the Suicide Squad. I think they're pretty serious about that," whispered John.

There was silence for a minute, besides the police sirens going off in the distance. John felt goosebumps raise on his skin. Although it was an October night, his goosebumps weren't from the cold. They were from fear. "What now?" Asked J'onn.

"We pay Waller a visit." Batman's gruff voice sounded more menacing than usual.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks to dragonscales00, lady wayfarer, Helen-of-Troy-7, Historyman 14, magitech, ****valevilandra, xbox432, and a Guest for leaving reviews! Seriously, you have no idea how encouraging they are. **

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**Chapter Eleven**

Amanda Waller was not having a good day. At first, she was in a fantastic mood. She finally could get rid of that "Suicide Squad" in exchange for something better...weapons. She was going to turn Luthor in after she received them—she wasn't corrupt. She was just willing to do whatever it took for the greater good. Luthor having his hands on the Thanagarian weaponry was too much of a risk even if his every move was watched by the Justice League. Even they hadn't caught on. She was impressed with the former Hawkgirl's work. Shayera Hol and the Suicide Squad would just be…casualties. However, she found their signals terminated and their helicopter missing. She was so angry that she had all of the guards on duty thrown in jail. At least she had that satisfaction.

However, she had an ace up her sleeve. When she first put the chips into their heads, she also installed some in their eyes and ears. She frequently listened and watched their missions. She currently was trying to connect to their signal. They seemed offline at the moment. The signal was cut all together from her microbomb chips.

As she was impatiently waiting for the feed to connect, the door slammed open. Six costumed Justice League members burst into her office, all looking angry. Especially the Green Lantern. "What?" She snapped. They didn't intimidate her, even when they were towering over her. "I'm busy."

"We know about the trade for the weapons, Waller," said Superman. A frown was etched onto his chiseled face. "And we know about Luthor. Where are they?" He crossed his arms over his broad chest.

Waller rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to find them. And don't believe for a second that I wouldn't double cross Luthor. That was my plan. The Suicide Squad were just casualties," she said calmly as she waited for the signal to load.

"Why should we believe you?" Interrogated Batman with a typical batglare. "Making a deal with Lex Luthor isn't exactly trustworthy."

The Martian's eyes glowed red for a few seconds and she felt an itch in her brain. It was unsettling, to say the least. "She's not lying. She was going to turn in Luthor." Waller rubbed her temples and glared at the Martian.

The Green Lantern slammed his fist on her desk. His face was twisted into a snarl. "You blackmailed her into joined just to turn her into the psychopaths that want to kill her! Probably torture her!" He screamed. His green eyes seemed to be glowing brighter than usual.

She gave him an arrogant look. "I needed an expert on Thanagar. And you're definitely right about the torture. Luthor said the Thanagarian was very excited about that," she said, taunting him. If he attacked her, she would have probable cause to shoot him.

He took a step forward, as if to attack her and she moved her hand to her gun. Batman put a hand on his shoulder and slid in front of him to block Waller from his line of vision. "Regardless of your intentions, you may have killed a retired League member." His eyes flickered towards the screen. "What are you tracing?"

"I had chips surgically inserted into their eyes and ears three years ago. We can watch and listen to them—not her, lover boy. She technically isn't a member," she said to John. He made two fists. "I'm just waiting for the damn signal to come out. They seem to have broken my kill switch." Suddenly the screens lit up with views of warehouse.

They could see Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Captain Boomerang, and Shayera all waiting and listening from the catwalks. Waller noticed a that when Wonder Woman saw the large bruise on Shayera's face, she cast her eyes downwards. Luthor stood in the middle with the Joker and Two Face. The three were arguing about animatedly. It was a strange group. There were plenty of guard positioned around the rest of the warehouse.

"Where are they?" Asked Flash. His fingers were tapping so fast on Waller's desk that they produced a steady vibration.

"That's the problem," said Waller. "These chips were designed to only show an image; not a date and location. They were designed that way to avoid government responsibility if the videos were ever leaked. We'll have no idea where they are unless we get some type of clue."

Suddenly the door was thrown open and a tall, well built man strode in with a large set of wings on his back. He looked very familiar but he wore no helmet. He had large scars on his face from burns and blades. They looked at Shayera. She was extremely pale and clenching her mace with all of her strength. "This keeps getting better and better," she muttered.

The man spoke to Luthor, asking where Shayera was and swinging his large axe around when Luthor said he didn't know. That's when John realized who it was. "No," he whispered. The Leaguers looked at him, confused.

Shayera began to speak. "Deadshot, find a high spot. Stay out of sight unless absolutely necessary. I need you to be our last resort. Watch out for them." He nodded and but before he could move away, she added, "Anyone tries to run, take out their knees. Do not kill the Thanagarian. He's mine, understand." Her voice to a shaky undertone to it, as if she was trying as hard as she could to control her anger. "Unless I'm dead, and you're sure of it, stay away from him." Deadshot gave her a slight nod and moved to his position. "That goes for all of you," said Shayera.

"You alright, Wings?" Asked Harley. _Wings? _Thought Waller. It was kind of elementary. But then again, it was Harley Quinn. Although she was a respected psychologist, there were some points where she seemed to have the IQ of a first grader. Her blonde hair was falling out of her pigtails and into her face. She blew it impatiently away like a child would. "Who's that?"

"That would be my ex-fiancè. Hro Talak," she said with anger in her voice. The Leaguers gasped. Her eyes were focused on Hro like a hawk, flickering with his every movement.

Harley gave an impressed look as she squeezed Shayera's hand. "Look's like we'll both be dealing with ex's today," she said with a small smile. The League was surprised at how friendly Harley was being. With Shayera, of all people. She was the least friendly out of all of them.

Batman scoffed, "How can she get Quinn to breakup with the Joker in a few days when I've been trying for years?" He had his arms crossed against his chest and was almost… pouting. Not that anyone would point that out to him.

Shayera spoke again. Her green eyes were still intently focused on Hro, like she was watching her prey from above. "Deathstroke," she said. "You handle the guards. Have some fun. I'm not holding you back."

He pulled out his sword. "With pleasure," he grinned. Shayera nearly reconsidered. She was afraid that he would take this too far but she couldn't bring herself to care. She never had a problem with killing on Thanagar. But on Earth, that changed. They considered life to be sacred, and the heroes never killed. But she wasn't a hero anymore.

"Boomerang, you handle the Joker," Boomerang tensed, uncomfortable with this suggestion. No one ever wanted to deal with the Joker.

Harley interrupted. "No!" She exclaimed. They were quick to shush her, glancing downwards to see if they had heard. They were too wrapped up in their arguments. "He's mine," she hissed. "Boomie can take Two-Face." Captain Boomerang visibly relaxed as he whipped out his new invention.

"Alright then. Harley," said Shayera. She finally took her eyes off the scene below. "You handle the Joker. Remember, how many times he's hurt you. He doesn't love you, and he'll try to trick you to thinking he does."

Harley laughed. "Jokes on him—I'll be doing the heart breaking this time!" Shayera and Harley smiled. It was time that Harley saw what the Joker truly was.

"That just leaves Luthor and Hro. If I'm right, Luthor will stay hidden. I have those two. Are you ready?" Shayera asked, her face showing no emotion.

Boomerang jumped over the railing first, yelling, "They don't call us the Suicide Squad for nothing!" He thew his first boomerang, slitting three throats on a curve in the process. He threw another two Boomerangs at once towards Two-Face who barely was able to avoid them, snatching the original bloody one in thin air.

Deathstroke was right behind him, slicing off heads left and right.

Harley strode right up the the Joker, yelling, "Miss me, pudding?" He looked like a deer in headlights, surprised to see Harley still alive. She nailed him in the stomach with her baseball bat, screaming, "Batter up!"

And Shayera, well, she took out Luthor and Hro in one blow. "HAHHHH!" She screamed as she nailed Luthor in the head and Hro in the gut. Luthor crumpled to the ground as Hro flew into boxes on the side. She quickly followed. "It's nice to see you again, Hro."

He got up from the destroyed boxes, dusting himself off. "Shayera. Or should I say, traitor?" He spat out, glaring at her menacingly. He wore no helmet like most Thanagarians did. "Do you know what you've done to Thanagar?"

Hro had looked better. He had burns all over his body, the worst ones on the side of his face. They looked like burns from an explosion. She had seen them often enough after battles. She wondered if he had some brain damage. Besides...what else would possess him to come all the way to Earth?

"I've been a little busy," she said as she gripped her mace. Her teeth were clenched as she and Hro stalked around in a circle, waiting for one to strike first. "I haven't had much time to catch up with anyone."

He wasn't amused by her sarcasm. Hro looked at her with more anger than she had ever seen in his eyes. "It's destroyed. Gone. Billions of lives destroyed not by the Gordanians, but you. You could have been our savior, but instead you were our executioner!" He yelled.

Shayera's jaw dropped open for a few moments until she snapped it shut. She stood there, speechless before retorting, "Why are you still here if everyone is dead? I'm sure there's a resistance." It was a futile attempt; that statement had done enough damage. Billions of lives, gone because of her. To save a planet that wanted her dead.

"I left to hunt you down. To make you pay," he growled. He stepped forward, tightening his grip on his axe. "Thanagar deserves at least that."

Shayera laughed. And laughed. And laughed. The others slowed down their fighting to look at her. "You're just as bad as I am! You're a deserter!" She tried to stop before laughing uncontrollably again. She wiped tears from her eyes before continuing, "Thanagar doesn't need to see me dead, Hro. They needed a leader."

Rage twisted his face. "I am not as bad as you! You killed them all! Eight billion Thanagarians dead because of you! You left your people to die!" He yelled. He then electrified his axe. "And now it's time to pay."

"Bring it," snarled Shayera as she bared her teeth. She raised her mace and they collided.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thanks to Historyman 14, dragonscales00, The Real River Team, Helen-of-Troy-7, and magitech for leaving reviews! **

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**Chapter Twelve**

John was angry. Angry at Waller for forcing Shayera into this situation. Angry at himself for not helping her. And angry at Shayera for being so damn stubborn. She could have contacted the League and they would have taken care of the whole problem. But she wanted to clear her name without their help. He could almost understand why she felt that way, especially after the way he and Diana treated her. Wally told him how shocked she looked when she found out that he was with Mari. He didn't want to admit it, but he still had feelings for Shayera.

And now he was standing in A.R.G.U.S. headquarters, watching as she was killing herself. "We have to do something," he hissed.

Waller shot him one of the meanest looks he had ever seen. He heard Wally gulp from behind him. "I would have done something already if I could. There's nothing we can do. It's up to them now." She glanced at the screen uncertainly. It did not seem like they were in good hands. Captain Boomerang had his hands full with Two-Face. He was currently fighting hand to hand and Two-Face had just ripped off part of his ear. Deathstroke was originally killing anyone who stepped near him but slowed down after he was shot in his left calf. He was starting to get overpowered. Deadshot was no help because he was currently battling Cheetah who sniffed him out in the catwalks of the warehouse. He had slices all over his body.

Harley Quinn's battle would almost be comical if it wasn't the Joker. She was currently screaming at him, saying, "AND YOU'VE TRIED TO POISON ME HOW MANY TIMES? JOKES ON YOU MISTER! I'M IMMUNE TO POISON!" She wasn't faring very well either. The Joker had just grabbed her hair and slammed her head against a metal rail, cackling the whole time. John still got the chills every time he heard that freak laugh. She crumpled to the ground.

Shayera seemed to be doing the best out of all of them. She was channeling her anger into fighting Hro. He was barely able to keep up; her mace was nearly a silver blur. The nth metal weapons clanged out as they slammed into one another. But once she saw the Joker crouching over Harley with a knife, giggling like a maniac, she abandoned that battle and flew straight for him while screaming, "NO!" She smacked the Joker away and looked down at Harley.

That's when Lex Luthor saw his opening from the shadows. He raised his gun and a shot rang out. "No!" Screamed John. The other League members looked completely shell-shocked. Shayera collapsed as blood poured out of her left arm. They sighed with relief when they noticed where Luthor had hit.

Luthor strolled out of the shadows, glancing at the smoking barrel of his gun. He stopped in front of her. "My shooting arm must be off. I was aiming for your heart," he said nonchalantly. One by one, the others fell with her.

Hro came storming over, cuts and bruises all over his body. Blood was pouring out of his nose where Shayera smashed her elbow into. "She is mine to kill, human. We had a deal," he growled.

"Maybe if you hadn't taken so long, she would have been your kill," said Luthor. He was standing with his gun clenched tightly in his hand, waiting for the opportunity to shoot Hro. It was obvious that the two didn't get along.

Shayera barked out a laugh. She was kneeling on the ground next to Harley, her right hand clamped over the gunshot to stop the blood flow. "Fighting over me already?" She asked with a sarcastic grin. "I'm not dead yet." Perhaps hanging around Harley Quinn had brought out her sense of humor.

Hro backhanded her. She went flying sideways, the hand that was on her shoulder now on her cheek. When she pulled it away, it left a bloody hand print. "Quiet, traitor. Don't worry about that." He gave her a terrifying smile. "You will be soon."

The criminals gazed at the other broken criminals at their feet. Cheetah dragged over Deadshot, his gadget red eye cracked. "Found this one in the catwalk. Thought he could take some of us out."

"What now?" Asked Two Face in his gruff voice. He was running the coin across his fingers. "Do you think the League knows we're here?"

"No," said Luthor with an air of superiority. The bastard was still wearing his American flag pin. John couldn't understand how he was voted into office. "They never would let scum show them up. They have no idea." He raised a hand to his chin, thinking of what to do with them.

The Joker came staggering back over, clutching his ribs where Shayera had just hit. "Oh Harleen," he said as he gazed down at Harley, shaking his head almost like he was disappointed. He tsked a few times. Then he lashed out, kicking her roughly in the ribs. Everyone in both rooms (expect Waller) winced.

Harley groaned in pain. She stirred slightly, her blue eyes cracking open. "Why are you calling me that?" She asked, squinting up at him.

He didn't bother answering and instead gave the rest of the room a chilling grin. "Excuse me, gentlemen and woman," he said as he dragged Harley out by her pigtails. "I have a pest problem to deal with." Luthor rolled his eyes as the Joker walked away, Harley in tow.

"Are you going to kill me?" Quietly asked Harley. She didn't bother fighting back. John didn't know if she was concussed or if she had finally given up.

"No," said the Joker. His dress shoes clacked on the warehouse floor. He was effortlessly towing her. "That would just make you a martyr."

"Stop," said Shayera, her eyebrows furrowed downwards. "Joker!"

Hro blocked her field of vision. "What did I say?" He electrocuted her with his axe. She screamed out in pain and Deadshot caught her before she hit the ground.

"Enough, Talak," said Luthor impatiently. His eyes were narrowed at the Thanagarian. "We need to find out exactly how much they know. You wanted to kill her slowly. Make sure you fit in some questions."

"You're sick," spat out Shayera. As she regained her senses. She pulled from Deadshot's arms and shakily stood up. "You're supposed to be the leader of the free world, but instead you're just as crazy as the Joker." Drawing herself to her full height, she looked up at Luthor. She was a full head shorter than him, but still managed to look intimidating.

Luthor smiled down at her, not phased by her show. "Hro, do me a favor. Cut off her wings for me. I want to send them as a gift to the League." Shayera's eyebrows shot up in fear.

Hro gripped his axe. "With pleasure," he said. He hit Shayera with the flat side of it before picking her up and carrying her out of the room.

"Lock them up," said Luthor. "I'll send in the Joker after he finishes with…whatever he's doing." The Justice League was fully aware of how twisted the Joker was, what they saw next still managed to shock them...


	13. Chapter 13

**All properties owned by D.C. comics. You'll recognize this scene if you've read the Suicide Squad #14. **

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**Chapter Thirteen **

Harley's head hurt. And neck. And arms. And everywhere. The Joker really gave her a beating. Well, it wasn't really new. He always abused her, whether she messed up one of his plots with Batman or came too close to killing Batman. Or whether she spent too much time with Poison Ivy or she hung around with him too much. But he never tried to finish the job. That was going to change today.

The Joker dragged her out of the large center of the warehouse and down a few halls before kicking her down a flight of stairs. She rolled to the bottom, slamming into the wall. She groaned in pain, barely feeling it at this point. He then kicked open a metal door and yanked her inside. It smelled absolutely disgusting. She felt the Joker hoist her up and lock her arms into place. She finally came to when she saw the rotting skull at her feet.

The Joker smiled at her. The gaze she once saw as affectionate and loving now just looked terrifying. His white skin was stretched tight over his skull, his eyes nearly bulging out of his sockets. Large yellow teeth sat between blood red lips. "You know, Harls, I thought I missed you for awhile. I mean, before you got arrested, I was planning to kill you. Poison your food or something like that. Well, I did. You can thank your little Poison Oak friend for that," he muttered under his breath. He smiled suddenly, remembering where he was. "I'm not going to kill you, Harleen. Instead I'm going to lock you with the others," he said.

"The other what?" She whispered with a feeling of dread in her stomach. She couldn't bring herself to break eye contact.

"The other Harley's, of course!" He said with a flourish. He stepped back and gestured to the bodies rotting around her. He started to laugh once there were tears rolling down her face. "What? You thought you were the only one? I can tell you you won't even be the last." He let out a hysterical giggle.

With makeup running down her face, she started to scream and pull at her chains. "I'll kill you!" She screamed. "YOU SICK FREAK! DON'T TURN YOUR BACK ON ME!" She wanted to kick his teeth in. He moved out of the way just in time as her foot swung were his jaw was.

He started to laugh again as he made his way out of the room, kicking a skull as he passed. "And like all of them, you will stay down here and die, and no one will ever know what happened to you. In time you'll just be forgotten." He slammed the door shut. "Like you never existed."

"I'm going to get out of here!" She screamed, yanking at the chains.

"That would take something you don't have in you, toots. Goodbye, Harleen. I have business to attend to upstairs," he said. She screamed as loud as she could in frustration. She was going to show that clown.

* * *

Harley had actually learned a thing or two from the Joker. She learned how to kill a man with his own hand and how to use a switchblade. She learned that a joke wasn't funny if you had to explain it. She learned how to stitch up knife wounds and how to tell the difference between broken and bruised ribs. That one was important. But one of the most useful things she learned was that if you tried hard enough, you could escape from anywhere. And currently, that was coming in handy. Years of gymnastics made her extremely flexible, but that was not enough. She screamed as she dislocated her wrists. After some more pulling and skin rubbing away, they came loose. She collapsed onto the rotting bodies below, gagging at the smell.

After a moment of catching her breath and plugging her nose, she attempted to pop her wrists into place. She cried out—the left one seemed to be more broken than dislocated. She shook it off; she needed to focus on escaping, not on pain. That was another thing the Joker taught her how to do; tolerating broken bones.

She limped her way to the door before taking one last look at the room behind her. She saw that there were more than ten bodies, all in various states of decay. Most of them were just skeletons with shreds of clothes at this point. She turned around and didn't look back. She quietly crept her way upstairs, focusing on making as little noise as possible.

She saw that Luthor was on the phone in the middle of the warehouse while Two-Face was flipping his coin and arguing with Cheetah. She picked up her baseball bat and large revolver, now abandoned on the ground. She knew how to sneak around this warehouse unnoticed. Her "puddin" was nowhere to be found. She made her way to the prison cells the Joker had built there. She remembered that when she asked about them, he simply told her not to worry and to get back to unloading weapons out of a truck. She grimaced at the memory.

Once she reached the cells, she glanced through the keyhole on the door. She saw him, currently carving something onto Captain Boomerang's arm while Deadshot and Deathstroke could do nothing but watch. Shayera was nowhere to be found. She bared her teeth at the sight of him. Harley took a deep breath, and kicked open the door.

He turned around in shock, and was met with a baseball bat to the side of his head. "Homerun!" She screeched.

Harley quickly unlocked their chains as they picked up their weapons. The four stood over the Joker as she held his head in his hands. "Never start with the head, the victim gets all..fuzzy," he groaned.

Harley kicked him in the groin in response. He moaned in pain and collapsed to the ground. "Eight years!" She screamed. "Eight years I stuck with you, putting up with abuse and your stupid schemes! And all you did in return was give me bruises and broken bones!"

The Joker gave her a condescending smile. "What can I say, toots? It's tough love."

Harley clenched her jaw as she hit him in the ribs with the bat. She heard a crack. The three watched quietly, not wanting to interfere. "I loved you. I've done terrible things for you—I NEARLY KILLED THE BATMAN FOR YOU, FOR GOD'S SAKE! AND EVEN THAT WAS WRONG! YOU THREW ME OUT OF OF A BUILDING!" She yelled. Her rage was beginning to boil over.

The Joker seemed to notice this as he scrambled away with each step she took forward. "Harley, baby, listen to me. I-" He was interrupted by a gun barrel in-between his eyes. He glanced up with a gulp.

"It's Harleen," she said menacingly.

The Joker gave off a sudden cackle. He leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed. "You won't kill me. You don't have it in you. You love me." He started to laugh again.

"You're right," said Harley as she lowered the gun. The Joker visibly relaxed and smiled. A wrench dropped out from his sleeve and he clutched it in his hand, waiting for the right opening. "I do love you. But that doesn't mean we should be together," she finished as she quickly raise the gun and pulled the trigger.

The Joker screamed in pain as she shot him in the knee. After that, he started to laugh. "Well played, my dear. You just might become my Harley yet. HA HA HA HA!" They walked out of the room, slamming it shut behind them.

Harley took a deep breath as Deadshot put a hand on her shoulder. "Didn't think you could do it, Quinn."

She gave a shaky smile. "You notice those C-4 packages from the rafters?"

"Yeah," he said. He had taken off his mask, the red eye now useless.

She smiled at him. "Wanna make some fireworks?"

He grinned back.


	14. Chapter 14

**This chapter gets much darker. Not sure how trigger warnings work, but there is a bit of torture. **

**Thanks to Historyman 14, magitech, Helen-of-Troy-7, and senpen banka for the reviews!**

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**Chapter Fourteen**

Shayera came to in a dark room with a pounding headache, an aching shoulder, and two very sharp pains in her wings. She opened her eyes after a sharp hit to her face.

"Hello Shayera," said Hro as he grinned down at her. She was on her knees with her hands bound behind her back. Her wings were spread out, with two hooks stabbed through them to keep her from moving too much. She winced as the blood oozed out.

"Well, Hro," she said, getting right down to business. There was no point trying to stall. She was a good liar, but Hro would see right through it. "You know I won't answer any of your questions. So cut the shit and just kill me already." Hro was perfectly aware of how tough she was. All espionage agents had to go through ten rounds of torture to see if they could withstand it in the event of a capture. Most recruits stopped at seven or eight; she made it through all ten.

Hro smiled. "I know that. I oversaw your exams on Thanagar. And I was there with you in that prison camp." She clenched her jaw. Hro had done nothing to protect her, and left her behind once he got the chance to escape. After she was rescued, she volunteered for the mission on Earth, just to get back at him for abandoning her. "But I'm not going to kill you yet. I'm going to make you beg for it." He pulled out a long blade. "How long do you think it will take to make you scream?" He asked as he cut into her cheek. She looked downward, refusing to make eye contact or cry out in pain.

Shayera shook her head slightly, her green eyes filled with sadness. There was something wrong with Hro's brain. Although he would kill others, he was never this sadistic. One of the explosions he was involved in must have caused severe brain damage.

HRo slashed at her with the blade, electrifying it at the same time. She gasped in pain. He grabbed her chin and forced it upwards. "Look at me!"

She spit in his face. He began to laugh. "Don't act all high and mighty, Hro. I may be a traitor, but you're a deserter. We'd receive the same execution on Thanagar," she said with a grimace.

He wiped the bloody saliva away and picked up her mace, which had been laying in the corner. "I never understood why you would want to use this. Swords, spears, and axes are all much easier to handle. They cut cleaner, allowing you to move faster. But you insisted on your mace, claiming that it suited you better." He looked her in the eye. "I understand now. It suited your nature. You liked your enemies broken, not just dead."

She opened her mouth to counter this but he punched her in the face. And then in the stomach. And then he took her left wing and snapped it with his bare hands. Wings were the most fragile part of the body on Thanagar. This time she couldn't avoid screaming in pain.

"Don't worry, Shayera. You won't lose your wings right away. Instead of cutting them off, I'm going to beat them off with your mace. I wonder how many hits it will take for them to finally fall?" He pondered while glancing at her mace.

"You're crazy," she choked out, coughing up blood. It dribbled down her chin.

"No, Shayera," he said almost sadly. "I just want you to get what you deserve." Shayera saw her mace raise and realized that it was going to kill her. It was ironic that she was going to die with her own weapon. As it shattered her right wing, she finally allowed herself to cry. Not as much in pain as to losing someone that she had once loved so much.

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**Harley POV**

The Justice League watched as Harley scrambled around the warehouse, trying to find where Hro took Shayera. She ran as fast as her broken body allowed her to, opening doors and shooting guards that saw her. Finally, she opened the right door and saw the worst sight they had ever seen.

It was Shayera with her back facing towards the door. The Thanagarian was beating her wings with her own mace. They weren't gray anymore—they were bright red and dripping blood. In some spots bones were popping out. Two hooks were shoved into her wings to keep them in place. She whimpered with each hit, seemingly not able to scream anymore.

Harley didn't hesitate to shoot Hro in the back. He collapsed onto the ground, blood pouring out of his gunshot wound. John was glad at how ruthless Quinn was. He wanted to kill the bastard himself. "Shayera!" She said as she put her hands on her cheeks, raising her face to meet her own.

Shayera opened her eyes. She was bruised and bleeding nearly everywhere with a particularly nasty cut on her cheek and lip. She had nearly bit through it to stop from screaming. "Harley?" She asked, confused. "Are you alright?"

Harley cut through the ropes on her wrists and held one of the hooks that kept Shayera upright. Hro was gurgling blood in the corner. "I should ask you the same question." Harley hesitated, looking at the hook.

"Do it." Hissed out Shayera. She closed her eyes and screamed when Harley quickly pulled them out, one after the other. She collapsed onto the ground. Harley helped her up, holding her mace in one hand and a gun in the other. "Give that to me," said Shayera, holding out her hand for her mace.

"We gotta go, Wings. They're going to blow this place," said Harley, uncertain. She had the mace clutched to her chest unwilling to give it to Shayera.

"This will only take a second," said Shayera. She had a blank look on her face that quite frankly terrified Harley and the League. Harley handed it to her without a question.

Shayera slowly went to Hro, who was laying on the ground, coughing up blood. "Come back already, Shayera?" He mocked. "You know, you—" He was interrupted by a mace crashing into his skull once. Then again, and again, and again. Harley looked away once she heard the first sickening crunch.

After ten of them, she put her hand on Shayera's arm, stopping another swing. With a glance at the ground, she saw that Hro Talak had no head left, simply crushed brain matter and skull. The League was shocked at how…barbaric Shayera acted. Batman's eyes widened under his cowl, Superman looked green, John's face drained of all blood, Wally's mouth was hanging open, J'onn looked shocked, and even Diana had a hand pressed to her mouth. "Come on, Shayera," said Harley softly. Shayera realized it was the first time that she actually called her by her name. "It's time to go. He can't hurt you anymore."

Shayera looked at Harley, tears brimming in her eyes. She suddenly blinked them away and put back on that blank, terrifying look. Harley lead her all the way out of the warehouse and onto one of the other three were waiting there. They stared at the state Shayera was in. "They're all gone," said Deathstroke after a moment. "Luthor, Two-Face," he gave Harley a look. "Even the Joker." Harley didn't look surprised and simply pursed her lips.

Captain Boomerang handed Harley the detonator. "Miss Quinzel, if you'd please."

"I'm honored," Harley said sarcastically, grinning as the warehouse was blown into nothing. "We better get out of here," she said. "Batman or his kids will be here any minute…" she trailed off as she saw Shayera put her hand to her shoulder. It came away red with blood.

"Shayera?" Asked Deadshot. "Are you—" he was interrupted by her collapsing onto the ground. Shayera saw her teammates concerned faces around her with their lips moving but she could not hear what they were saying. And then her world went black.

* * *

**I'm sad to say that we're approaching the end of this story. Three more chapters to go!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks to Helen-of-Troy-7, senpen banka, ElsaTheSnowQueen2, xbox432, magitech, ****valevilandra, and dragonscales00 for leaving reviews! Two more chapters left!**

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen**

With the faint sound of beeping in the air, the smell of disinfectant, and the general eeriness of a hospital, Shayera came to. She slowly looked around the room, her eyes still blurring slightly. She tried to sit up but was too weak sit up from all of the IV's poking out of her arm. As she grabbed them to yank them out in frustration, a green hand covered hers. "Feeling better already?" Asked J'onn with a slight joking tone.

Shayera moved back slowly, easing herself against the pillow. She gave a tired smile. "Hello, J'onn." She suddenly panicked, remembering the events before. Waller, Luthor, the Joker, Hro... "Where are the others?" The distance between the beeps on her heart monitor shortened as she quickly asked, "Are they—"

"They were all gone when we found you," interrupted J'onn smoothly. J'onn had he most calming presence in the entire Justice League. Her heart monitor slowed down (at least, for a Thanagarian) as she sighed with relief. His green face showed no emotion as he said, "As far as we know, they are in no danger. Harley Quinn is waiting to see you."

"In the Watchtower?" Asked Shayera, surprised. Many of the heroes were from Gotham or had battled with Harley and the Joker before. To let her in the Watchtower must have taken a lot of trust. J'onn must have scanned her mind to see if she intended to hurt anyone.

J'onn frowned slightly. "Yes. That's caused a bit of…tension. But that does not matter. How are you feeling?"

"Loopy. You must have me on a lot of pain medication," responded Shayera. At the moment, her head was spinning slightly. She could barely focus on what J'onn was saying. She hated the feeling pain medication gave her. "My injuries are that bad, huh?"

J'onn's face was grim. He sat in the chair next to her bed. "Do not take this so lightly, Shayera. You nearly died. You had a gunshot wound from Luthor that tore through muscle and veins. Besides, every bone was nearly shattered in your wings and your body held a large amount of shallow cuts and bruises..." J'onn hesitated.

"Essentially, I'm lucky to be alive," supplied Shayera calmly. She was almost glad that she was on so much medication to keep her calm.

"Yes," he said uncertainly. He blinked his red eyes a couple of times before continuing. "Your Thanagarian physique merely slowed down the bleeding. If we hadn't found you when we did…"

"I would be dead," she said bluntly. "There are no complications, right?" She asked. If she couldn't fly...

"No," said J'onn. He gave her a reassuring smile. "You'll be able to fly again with no problems. It is a good thing Thanagarians heal quickly."

Shayera breathed a sigh of relief. "How did you find us, anyway? I was very careful with covering our tracks."

J'onn gave her a slight smile. "Your…friends…made quite a scene in Gotham. Harley Quinn can explain more once she comes in." He glanced at a clock on the wall. "Her procedure should be over now." He patted her hand and stood up. "I'll send her in." He left the room.

A moment later Harley entered the room, wearing a new set of civilian clothes. The makeup was washed from her face and her wrist was in a cast. Other bandages covered her body. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail instead of pigtails. "Hiya, Wings," said Harley. "How ya feeling?" She asked softly.

Shayera gave her a tired smile. "I've been better," she said.

"No offense or anything but you look like shit," said Harley. She sat on the edge of her bed, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. She poked at her IV bag. "They must have you on some heavy duty stuff. What is it? Fentanyl, hydromorphone, morphine, methadone, Ofirmev, ibuprofen…" she trailed off after noticing her staring. "What?" She asked. "I'm in hospitals a lot."

"What happened after I passed out?" Asked Shayera, ignoring that last comment. She shifted in her pillows, already uncomfortable with being in bed.

Harley grinned. "I've leaned that when you want Batsy to notice you, you just have to make a big scene. And there was a lot of C-4 in that warehouse," said Harley nonchalantly. "So we blew up the entire dock. Don't worry, no one was around," she said after seeing her shocked face.

Shayera nearly laughed. Harley just caused a ton of property damage and she told her not to worry. "What procedure did you get done?" Asked Shayera. "Are you alright?"

Her faces clouded with anger. "It was Waller," said Harley after a moment. "Besides the bombs, she had other chips implanted in our eyes and ears. She saw and heard everything we did. And apparently the League found her just in time to see the whole thing." She looked at her feet.

Shayera paled. "They saw everything?" Asked Shayera, glancing at Harley. "Even.."

She didn't look too happy either. "That's what they said," said Harley glumly. "But they're out now. And Task Force X is no longer in commission," said Harley with a sly smile. It suddenly disappeared. "And President Luthor seems to have vanished. The United States is currently in chaos. The Justice League is investigating nearly every department of the government."

Shayera didn't concern herself with that. It was the League's job now. "Where'd the others go?" Asked Shayera. She didn't understand how they disappeared.

Harley rolled her eyes. "They said that the bat-kids would be there soon so they didn't want to wait around to get caught just after escaping Waller. I couldn't leave ya there. But the good thing is that I wasn't doing anything illegal so I can head back to Gotham. My sentence has been thrown out all together with everything that went on."

"Are you sure you want to go back to Gotham?" Asked Shayera. She didn't know if there was anything left for Harley there.

"Yes," nodded Harley. "I've lived in Gotham my whole life. I'm not going to move out now." Harley had no intention of leaving Gotham City. Damaged as it was, it was still home.

"So this is it," said Shayera. Never in a million years would she ever think that she would call Harley Quinn a friend. She would really miss her, and she was surprised by it. She had spent a lot of time hunting down Harley before, and even fighting her.

"I would hug you," said Harley. "But," she nodded to Shayera's injured shoulder and wings. Harley glanced down towards her shuffling feet.

Shayera laughed. "I'm going to miss you Harley," she said.

"I'm gonna miss you too," said Harley. "Thank you, Shayera. For helping me to get away from him."

Shayera smiled and clasped Harley's hand. "I'm glad I could help," said Shayera.

"Bye, Wings," said Harley. "I'll see you around."

"Bye, Harley," said Shayera as she watched Harley leave the room. She really was going to miss her. She just prayed that Harley didn't get herself into trouble.


	16. Chapter 16

**Big thanks to the Real River Tam, dragonscales00, Historyman 14, ElsaTheSnowQueen2, Helen-of-Troy-7, magitech, xbox432, valevilandra for reveiws! Seriously—you guys are the best! **

**This one is a bit of a sadder chapter. Don't worry****—I won't end on a note like this. There's one more left! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

As soon as the door shut behind Harley, a red flash zipped into the room. Wally had his mask pulled down and he had flowers and balloons in his hands. "Hey, Shay," he said almost quietly, the humorous tone gone from his voice. He set the flowers down on her nightstand and tied the balloon to the end of her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," said Shayera. She watched as the others came in, forcing herself to keep her eyes open. Frankly, she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep. But she needed to know what the situation was.

John walked in first and his eyes widened in shock. He froze in the doorway, whispering, "Shayera. Are you—did you—"

"I'm ok, John," she said before he could stutter more. She gave him a small and reassuring smile, the cut on her cheek aching with the effort. He seemed horrified at her condition. That didn't come as a surprise—as Harley said before, she looked like shit.

"Hi Shayera," said Superman. "How are you doing?" He asked politely.

"Ok," she replied back. In reality she felt terrible. She went right to business. Her face hardening, she asked, "What happened to Waller?"

Batman answered first in his deep voice. "We made sure that Task Force X was completely shut down, but other than that…there's not much we can do."

She sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. "Of course. Have you found Luthor or the Joker?"

"We're looking," said Batman. "But it's unlikely that we'll find them until they make another move. They'll be lying low for a while. The good news is that Luthor was impeached; the first supervillain president in history." Shayera noticed that they all relaxed at that statement, especially Superman. They feared becoming a Justice Lord. "We picked up Cheetah and Two-Face hours ago, but they escaped separately.

She frowned. "That's not surprising," she said. Leave it those two to escape before they were killed; Shayera wished they were dead. The world would be better off. "Did you at least find the weapons? They do a lot of damage. They were banned from military use on Thanagar." They all seemed to bristle at that statement. She rolled her eyes. "Harley told me about the chips Waller used."

"They came out easily," said J'onn. "There were no complications. As for the weapons, they were destroyed in the explosion." Shayera didn't think that taking chips out of someone's eyes was easy but she didn't say anything. At least it was a relief that the weapons were gone.

"So you saw everything," said Shayera. It was more of a statement than a question. She felt uncomfortable with the fact that they saw her in such a vulnerable state.

"Not everything," softly said Wally. He look at her, worry plain on his face. "You didn't have chips."

There was an awkward silence for a minute, the hospital machines buzzing and beeping. "But you saw what I did," said Shayera. "You saw me—"

"It doesn't matter," interrupted John. "He got what he deserved," he said viciously. He was staring out of the window, looking out at the stars. She had never seen his face so serious, so hardened.

There was another awkward silence. "We have to go," said Bruce, filling it. "We'll keep looking for them."

Clark smiled at her. "Feel better, Shayera." He and Batman left first.

"I'll be back to check on you later," said J'onn. He walked out, examining a chart in his hand.

Wally squeezed her hand carefully, almost as if he was afraid that he would break her. "Get well soon, ok Shay?" His eyes seemed to fill with tears for a second before he slowly walked out of the room.

Diana and John were the only two left in the room. Diana stood next to her, tracing the flowers Wally had left with her index finger. She seemed at a loss of words. Biting her lip slightly and looking down at the ground, she finally said, "I'm sorry." Shayera was bewildered; Diana never apologized.

After a moment, Shayera said, "You don't have to apologize, Diana," she said after a moment. If she was feeling up to it, she would have milked this and dragged out the apology for as long as possible. In fact, she was sure she had done it in her earlier days with the League. But she was exhausted and it wasn't worth it. Shayera had realized that she was the first female friend Diana had on Earth. It must have hurt for her to betray that friendship. Diana had thought that she could trust Shayera the most because men were evil.

Diana frowned. "I do have to apologize. I was angry and I shouldn't have treated you that way." Part of Shayera felt that Diana should feel bad. She accused her of doing something she knew Shayera would never do.

"It's fine, Diana. Honestly, it's ok. I get it. You were still sore over the invasion and I was one of the suspects for weapons," said Shayera, lying slightly. She wasn't angry at Wonder Woman. She had plenty of other people to be angry at.

Diana gave her a small smile and glanced towards John who was staring out of the room's window, looking out into the stars. "Rest up," she said. "I have a feeling that the Justice League is going to need you." She shot Shayera a grin and she strode out of the room.

It was just Shayera and John. Neither of them spoke for a couple of minutes, the air thick with suspense. Shayera didn't really know what to say. Finally, he broke the silence. "We knew that you were in Gotham City but we had no idea which docks. Finally, Batgirl saw the explosions and gave us your coordinates. The whole time you were just laying there, bleeding out." He paused and took a shaky breath in. Shayera stayed silent during his explanation. He turned towards her. "When we finally got the coordinates, we teleported to you and got you up to the Watchtower as fast as possible." He sat down in a chair next to her bed. She studied his face, unable to read it. "J'onn and the doctors operated on you for five hours, trying to put back together your wings."

"It's ok, John," she said trying to reassure him. "I'm fine now."

He shot to his feet, his green eyes glowing. "It's not ok, Shayera! You see, that's exactly what's wrong! You should have asked us for help. But you were too damn stubborn and look what happened to you!" He yelled.

Shayera leaned back into her pillows, stunned and insulted. "I lived," she hissed. "And we didn't need your help. The Suicide Squad was built for these types of situations. " She glared at him.

He glared back. "You did need our help. You call yourself the Suicide Squad, for God's sake! It was an unnecessary suicide mission. Luthor and the Joker escaped. You got shot and tortured. You went through all of this just to prove a point. You just wanted to prove that you were strong, and that you could handle yourself. I don't know if you still felt responsible for the invasion, but whatever it was, it was just plain stupid."

Shayera grew extremely angry at this point. "The weapons won't be delivered anymore. That was the point of the mission. And if you think the League is so good, then they can handle Luthor and the Joker!" She yelled, sitting up suddenly. She winced; shoulder and wing wounds started to ache again.

John's face went from angry to concerned in a millisecond. "Are you alright, Shay? Do you want me to get J'onn?" He took a step towards the door.

"No," she said, shaking her head. She sighed. "John, I know you're concerned, but I can take care of myself."

"You're not invincible, Shayera," he said evenly. His anger seemed to have subsided. "Even though you think that you are. How many times when we fought together did you take on someone who Superman should have handled?" He joked, trying to clear the air between them.

Shayera gave him a slight smile. "I only took them on because you were too much of a wimp," she joked back.

John laughed. His face suddenly grew serious again. "We could see what they saw. And when Quinn walked into that room, I—" he suddenly stopped talking. "You have no idea what that did to me."

Shayera's straight face started to waver. "Yeah, well, I walked out of the room. I wo—"

"He got to you, Shayera," John interrupted. "You bashed in his head with your mace. The bastard deserved it, but you can't talk like this doesn't bother you."

She clenched her jaw. "It did get to me, John. I used to love the man, and he wanted to beat off my wings."

He flinched at that statement. John pulled the chair closer to her bed. He slowly raised his hand and started to trace the cut on her cheek. She didn't break eye contact. "I loved you, Shayera." he said. She smiled and he suddenly dropped his hand. "But I don't know if I feel that way anymore."

She frowned. "What are you saying, John?" She asked in a careful tone.

"I'm staying with Mari," he said. He glanced downwards towards his hands in his lap, almost guiltily. "Things are going well, and—"

"You still don't trust me," Shayera said in an icy tone. She felt her anger boiling over. Who did John think he was, coming in here and telling her that he loved her, only to say that he was staying with his girlfriend. He should have left this matter alone. Now was not the time.

He tried to re-explain, "Shayera, I—"

"Just get out," she said quietly. She had a look on her face John had only seen once before while she confronted Hro, right after the invasion. She was refusing to make eye contact but her green eyes were darker than he had ever seen. John knew that voice. It was the calm before the storm. But he couldn't help himself but try to explain.

"Shayera—"

"GET OUT!" She screeched. He gave her a sad look one last time, before leaving the room and slowly closing the door behind him. A glass shattered right were his head was a moment before. She felt something wet on her face and thought she popped a stitch by yelling. She put her hand to her face, thinking it would come back red with blood but there was nothing. She realized she was crying.

J'onn came in as the sobs started to shake her fragile frame. He sympathetically patted her good shoulder as she furiously tried to wipe her tears away. They kept coming. "Do you need more pain medication?" He asked softly.

She nodded, still sobbing. But she didn't only need it for her injuries. She also needed it for her broken heart.


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks to valevilandra, Dragonscales00, magitech, ElsaTheSnowQueen2, ShayeraJonh22, xbox432, Helen-of-Troy-7, and Historyman 14 for the reviews! **

**Longest one by far. Last chapter...here we go!**

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen**

Shayera's wounds healed beautifully, thanks to J'onn. After a ton of bed rest and extensive physical therapy, she could finally fly again. Not that she really listened to the bed rest part. J'onn had to get Batman to threaten to chain her to the bed if she didn't stop walking around. Wally giggled at that, making a joke about a movie. Fifty Shades of Black, or something? Shayera didn't get it. Wally visited her every day, making sure that she was thoroughly entertained. By the end, he was driving her crazy. Superman and Batman occasionally visited, giving her updates on Luthor and the Joker. J'onn saw her every day to check on her injuries. Even Diana visited. But John never stopped by. The others seemed afraid to mention him around her after their argument.

Once her wounds finally recovered, she rejoined the League. Wally told her that they voted in favor of her to stay. But joining the League meant that she couldn't avoid John or his girlfriend any longer. J'onn made sure to put her and Vixen on the same team, just to ease tension between them. To her surprise, it worked. Vixen was actually…admirable. Not that Shayera would ever tell her that that. However, many of the Leaguers seemed to distrust her. She guessed that the invasion was still a sore topic. She became a loner, her only friends Wally and J'onn. Most of the time, she took her meals to her room, only leaving for monitor duty, missions, founding member meetings, and to work out. Everyone respected her (part of her thought it was only because she was a founding member), but they all watched their backs. During the Cadmus Crisis, Shayera refused to turn herself into the government. That made some of the other founding members angry with her (Diana, Superman). She got them to shut up by telling them that she would rather die than become the government's prisoner again.

When she saw Waller and Luthor again, suicide was not on her mind. But killing was. She nearly beat them bloody with her mace. In fact, if Brainiac's tentacles didn't hold her back, she would have. But Wally almost disappearing into the Speed Force distracted her.

More time passed and she found herself missing the Suicide Squad more and more. It wasn't that she didn't like the League—it was that she didn't fit in. She found herself missing Harley the most, especially after dealing with Carter. The nerve of that guy. She really just needed someone to vent to. Batman told her a disturbing rumor he heard, saying that Harley had gotten back together with the Joker. That really worried her; Shayera didn't want her back in that abusive relationship. But there was nothing that she could do. She wouldn't know until they found the Joker.

A year eventually passed since she had first joined the Suicide Squad. More time passed without any large threats. But then Luthor arrived at the Metro Tower with the Legion of Doom, waring of Darkseid's impending invasion. Shayera found herself transported down at the end of his speech.

"Oh come on it's Lex flipping Luthor! Why should we trust him?" Yelled Superman as Batman suggested that they should take the villains help. Veins were popping out of the side of his neck.

"Let's be clear on this—we're not helping you save the world, you're helping me get rid off Darkseid," spat out Luthor. He glared at Superman. "When this is over, it's back to business as usual."

Shayera laughed, startling some of the villains. A few even shuffled away from her. She rubbed her scarred shoulder and clenched her mace. "That's good to hear, Lex." She said. Everyone attempted to ignore her comment and Luthor gave her a mocking smile.

"Put the bad guys on teams with regular Leaguers!" Commanded Diana as they ran forward. Batman and Superman began to form groups and Shayera found herself alone. She saw Batman say something to Superman and they both glanced towards her. She suddenly felt self conscious.

Shayera strode over after everyone had quickly disappeared. "Where's my team?" Asked Shayera.

Batman gave her a wry smile. "You'll find them waiting in D.C." Before she could ask any questions, he gave her a small shove onto the platform. "Good luck." She disappeared in a flash of light.

Shayera's eyes had to adjust for a moment for the bright sun. It was a gorgeous August day in Washington, not too hot, but it was ruined by the impending invasion. Shayera saw aliens flying in the distance, and she looked around her, waiting to find her group. She tapped her foot impatiently, standing under the Washington Monument. They were getting closer and no one was in sight.

"Hey! Wings!" She heard that unforgettable voice behind her. Shayera felt a smile grow on her face. "You didn't think you could get rid of us that easily, did ya?" Said Harley with a grin on her face. Next to her stood Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, and Deathsroke, all in seemingly good moods. Even Deathstroke didn't look as pissed off as usual.

Shayera smiled as she grabbed Harley and pulled her into a hug, laughing. "Harley! What are you guys doing here?" Asked Shayera with a large smile.

Harley shrugged. "Ivy wanted to check out some park in the area. We're going on a summer road trip. Just a coincidence, I guess," she said.

Captain Boomerang smiled. "They moved the Miss America Convention from Atlantic City to D.C. I wouldn't miss the swim suit competition for the world, " he said dreamily, gazing off into the distance. Shayera nearly shuddered; he really was a creep sometimes.

Simultaneously, Deathstroke and Deadshot said, "Business." They glared at each other, Harley bursting out into laughter.

Captain Boomerang poked her wing. "They healed pretty nicely. Actually, the look the same as before." He squinted at her. "What kind of sorcery do they have up there?

Shayera looked down at her feet. "The, uh, feathers cover the scars." There was an awkward silence.

"So what's the plan?" Asked Deadshot, filling the silence. He was furiously packing bullets into his gun. This one seemed to be a type of automatic weapon. "You did a pretty good job with the last one. I mean, we almost died—" she shot him a glare. "But we've had worse."

"Remember Flag?" Asked Deathstroke, sharpening one of his blades with a rock. "Hated that guy." They nodded thoughtfully and Harley started to giggle.

The aliens were really close at this point. "Here's the plan," said Shayera quickly as she watched them fly out of their ships. "Whoever takes down the least buys drinks." They stared at her, surprised with her lack of a plan. She smiled and flew off. "Better hurry up," she said, looking over her shoulder. "Because I'm going to crush you guys." With her signature "HAAAAAAHHHHH!" She smacked an alien with her mace, sending it flying into the Washington monument.

While smacking off alien's heads, Shayera saw that they were planting some type of device on the ground. It seemed to be drilling into the earth. Right then she got a call from Mr. Terrific. "ATTENTION LEAGUERS. DESTROY THOSE MACHINES AT ALL COSTS. THEY'RE TRYING TO MAKE EARTH ANOTHER APOKOLIPS."

"Got it," she said. "HEY!" She yelled. The others glanced towards her. "Cover me while I destroy that drill!" She yelled.

Deadshot moved towards her. "I got your back." He said as an alien's head exploded. He lowered his gun. "Come on, we don't have all day."

Shayera nodded and flew over to the base of the drill. Deadshot took care of most of the aliens around her and she swatted away a few stragglers. She electrified her mace and began to smack at the panels. Suddenly, she heard Deadshot call out behind her, "Shayera! Watch out!"

She turned her head just in time for a spear heading straight for her recently healed wing. Her eyes widened in shock. Just as it was about to puncture, it was hit by something. Instead of going straight through, it only grazed the top. Captain Boomerang caught his boomerang as it returned, waving it in the air and giving her a victory hoot. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She looked up and saw that Deadshot was using his fists to fight off the aliens that surrounded him. The others were far away. Thanks to him, didn't hit any main arteries in her wing but it was bleeding a decent amount. Of course it had to hit her wing. She pushed herself to her feet and made her way to the base of the drill once again. This time, she electrified her mace and held it in the main power core, screaming as she electrocuted herself. "HAHHHHHHH!" Suddenly, she was blown backwards.

Deadshot ran towards her, scooping her up into his arms like she weighed nothing. "We gotta move! That thing is gonna blow!" He sprinted over to a makeshift trench, still carrying Shayera. The others were already there. He dove in and the slammed onto the ground just in time. There was a giant explosion and the drill collapsed in on itself.

The remaining aliens retreated back through the boom tubes. The five of them laid there for a minute, panting. "So," said Shayera with a grunt of pain as she lifted herself into a sitting position against the side of the trench. "I'm assuming all of those kills count for me?"

The others chuckled. "Well, yeah, considering you nearly fried yourself trying to destroy that thing," said Harley with an eye roll. "What happened to you?" She asked Deadshot sarcastically. "Run outta bullets or something?"

He put his hands up, surrendering. "I dropped my gun." They stared at him. He tried to change the topic. Pointing at Captain Boomerang, he said, "At least we can all agree that Boomerang lost."

"They had thick armor!" He snapped defensively. "Besides. Harley was pretty close to me. Baseball bat, really love?"

"Stop being such a baby," said Shayera. She stood up. "Let's go find that bar. I think I know of one in the area." She began to pull herself out of the trench.

"Don't you need medical attention for that wing?" Asked Harley cautiously. She tried to say it nonchalantly while wiping alien goo off of her bat. "I mean, they just healed."

Shayera waved her hand. "Nah, I've gotten worse. Besides, Deathstroke can stitch it for me once we find that bar. I really need a drink." Deathstroke shrugged; he had stitched up a few wounds before. She began to walk in the direction of the bar. "You guys coming?" They shook their heads and followed her out of the trench. Sometimes, she seemed like more of a super villain than a superhero.

They didn't find a bar but they found a liquor store. Captain Boomerang did end up paying for the liquor but Shayera was pretty sure that the clerk added it up wrong; he just wanted them out of there as soon as possible. They were a pretty scary looking group. They bought more heavy liquor than a frat during St. Patrick's day and they intended to drink it all. They ending up sitting on the rubble of the collapsed drill, just drinking and talking.

Harley and Shayera sat alone at one point. The other three had gone off to break into a car for a first aid kit. Shayera really didn't feel like stopping them. Besides, they had just saved the capital. Harley was swaying and humming a mindless tune. "So," said Shayera, clearly less intoxicated than Harley. Thanagarians held their liquor well. "I heard a rumor that you got back together with the Joker." She gave Harely a suspicious look.

Harley let out a loud laugh. "Puddin—I mean the Joker—is just pissed that I'm not with him. He's practically begged me to come back to him. Sometimes I think about it." Once she saw the look Shayera was giving her, she quickly said, "But trust me, I ain't getting back with that jerk again—ever again," she emphasized. She then started to giggle. Although she speaking poorly about the Joker, her blue eyes shone with love.

She gave Harely a suspicious look. "Alright," said Shayera after a moment. "I trust your opinion. Just know that if you ever need anything, I'm always here." Shayera impatiently shook her bangs out of her face.

Harley smiled at her. "Thanks, Wings." Her smile suddenly turned into a sneaky one. "Speaking of love, anything happen with you lately? I saw that there's some Hawkman guy now. He looks pretty hot under that mask."

Shayera snorted. "Yeah, he is pretty hot. And good in bed." Harley hooted at that statement. "But, he's a starker. He's as delusional as the Joker." She thought about Egypt and the Shadowthief and was glad that she dodged that bullet.

"Hey!" Slurred Harley. Shayera shot her an apologetic glance. "No ones as crazy as Mistah J!" Shayera winced. Harley's accent was more pronounced when she was drunk. And it was obvious she still hadn't gotten over the Joker.

Shayera raised an eyebrow. "He tried to convince me that we were reincarnated lovers from Ancient Egypt." Harley looked serious for a minute, cocking an eyebrow in surprise. Shayera continued, "Turns out, he was right, but I loved someone else." She mumbled the last part.

"Who?" Asked Harley suspiciously. She had her head cocked to the side.

Shayera didn't answer for a minute. Then she sighed. "John," she said. "I was in love with John."

Harley's jaw dropped before she squealed and threw her arms around Shayera's neck. Shayera gently pushed her off. She smelled drunk too. "Then it's fate! You're meant to be together!"

Shayera rolled her eyes. "Well, we ended up dying in Egypt." Harley's excited squeals suddenly stopped. "And you tell him that. Because he doesn't feel the same way." Before Harley could say anything, she continued. "You know he told me a couple of weeks ago that he traveled to the future and met our son? But he still refuses to leave his girlfriend."

Harley's face softened. "Shayera, I—I'm sorry to hear that." She patted her shoulder, giving her a sympathetic look.

Deathstroke came over with a needle, thread, and bottle of vodka. "You know this is really going to hurt, right?" He said as he began to unscrew the liquor.

"Just do it on the count of three," she said while gripping her mace and extending her wing. "One, two—ugh!" The vodka dripped off her feathers. She looked up and glared at him as he began to stitch the wound.

"I warned you," he said as he rolled his one eye. He was such a know-it-all sometimes.

"Did you get any bandages?" She asked as he started to finish off the stitches. He gave her a blank look for a minute.

Deadshot and Captain Boomerang came over at this point. "What, do we have to get everything for you?" Asked Captain Boomerang sarcastically. "We got the needle and thread, didn't we?" Shayera responded by throwing a bottle at him which he narrowly dodged. It shattered on the ground behind him. She was pretty sure she head him mumble a few choice words under his breath.

As the others laughed at him, she received a call on her earpiece. She put a hand to her ear. "Shayera," said Superman. "Everything alright over there?" He asked cautiously.

"We're fine," she said, punching Deathstroke in the arm when he tied a stitch off too tightly. "How did everyone else make out?" Harley giggled at her choice of words.

"Everything is ok now. Luthor disappeared with Darkseid," he said in an ominous tone.

"I'm sure we'll see him again," replied Shayera just as darkly. She mouthed 'Luthor' to the others and they held their weapons a little more tightly.

"We're all meeting at the Capital Building in D.C." cautiously said Superman. "Think you can make it there ok?"

"Compared to everything else today, I think we can make it a few blocks. Shayera out." She took her hand off the earpiece. The others looked at her curiously. "It's over. They want us to meet at the Capital building."

Deadshot snorted. "There's no way in hell that I'm going there. You think the League is just going to let us walk away from all of this?" He said as he slung his gun over his shoulder. "I'm getting a head start while I can."

Shayera didn't object. That was exactly what she thought the League would decide. "Me too," said Captain Boomerang. "I only narrowly avoided the Flash the last time. Hate that guy," he muttered. He took one last swig out of his vodka and threw the bottle on the ground where it shattered.

Deathstroke sheathed his sword. "Yeah, and I have some clients I need to hunt down," he said with an emotionless voice, flicking alien goo off of his shoulder.

"So this is really it," said Harley. She gazed at them sadly. "That was our last suicide mission." She looked at them, shooting them puppy dog eyes. Suddenly, she pulled them all into a group hug, squealing. Deathstroke and Deadshot stood rigged and Captain Boomerang got a little too touchy. Shayera pinched his arm when it traveled too low. They broke apart quickly, Captain Boomerang rubbing his arm with Shayera glaring at him. "Don't act like you hated it," said Harley with a wink.

The three men took off in separate directions. "Try not to smack me too hard the next time you try to capture us!" Yelled Captain Boomerang over his shoulder. They quickly disappeared.

It was just Harley and Shayera. "I'll probably be seeing you around," said Harley with a mischievous look. Shayera took a look at her. Her pig tails were lopsided and covered with alien guts, her clothes were torn, and she had dirt everywhere.

"Try not to get in too much trouble," said Shayera as she pulled Harley into one last hug. "And to keep in touch, you know? Even if you send me those creepy ransom note letters." She said jokingly. After a moment of thought she seriously added, "But please do not kidnap anybody."

Harley smirked, giving Shayera a wink. "No promises," she said as she turned around. She ran into the street and pushed some guy off of a Harley Davidson, stealing it and giving her a wave as she sped away. Smiling slightly, Shayera shook her head and pretended not to notice.

* * *

**I don't have words for how much I thank all of you! Seriously, your encouragement made me continue this story. I hope you enjoyed it! I will definitely be writing a sequel. Look out for it in the future. Love you all!**

**-AC333**


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